


what fear does to people

by endlesslytea



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Not Canon Compliant, Slow Burn, look time doesn't actually make a lot of sense don't think too much about it, other characters will be added, taiyang is doing his best but now he has two sad and gay teens in his house, that comfort will be coming i swear, this is angsty, where blake's arc in volume 4 takes place a month earlier, yang doesn't know how to deal with blake being back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27171629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlesslytea/pseuds/endlesslytea
Summary: Yang has spent an entire winter looking through her window, waiting for something, or nothing. Consumed by her thoughts, her past, and her fears. Mostly her fears.She nows fears everything, when she used to be undaunted.But then someone knocks on her door, and she can’t decide if it’s fear, or it’s cure.Just maybe, it’s both.(I don't know how to write summaries, read if you'd like!)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 29
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been going around in my head for far too long, so here you have it. Brace yourself: the angst is bad. It'll get better! ...eventually

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea has been going around in my head for far too long, so here you have it. Brace yourself: the angst is bad. It'll get better! ...eventually

Yang looked at the metal prosthetic laying in the desk. Shining grey, it was beautiful, but it was hers.

She looked down to her arm, or what was left of it: covered with scars because of the stretch of the skin and in a weird shape, the doctor had told her she was actually lucky it was a clean cut. That it would heal nicely for a prosthetic.

And so yes, Yang was so _happy_ that the guy that had cut off her arm had done it nicely enough so she could put on a prosthetic after. 

She hated everything. The arm, Adam, the doctors, her father for bringing the arm, Adam again. 

She hated herself, for not thinking before jumping, for being weak, for being mean to Ruby, for spending an entire winter in her bed. She had memorized every corner of that room, as she had not left it. 

It had once been the guest’s room, and she would happily share with Ruby, but before was before. She hadn’t brought any of her stuff there.

Tai, however, had tried to make it more _homie_ , maybe, for her. But he couldn’t understand that it was the opposite of what Yang wanted. Everything about her, even her own reflection, it repulsed her. She felt disgusting. An arm missing, her skin pale, her muscles almost gone. She had lost weight and strength. 

Still, her father had put the box with the arm in her desk, so when she woke up it was the first thing she saw.

Yang knew her father meant well. She saw his face of disappointment when the day before, when he walked in with the new arm, she didn’t put it on.

Yang sighed, watching the ceiling of her new room. She couldn’t handle it now. Not yet. She still had trouble getting up.

A loud thunder had woken her up to discover it was raining. Yesterday it had been a clear day, but now it was pouring. She had woken up late (as usual) to find a small note next to the arm.

_Going to Signal, be back before dinner. There’s food in the fridge, eat! Love, dad._

At least she could have the house for herself.

She got up slowly and stretched her arms, numb after laying for too long. Zwei, who was sleeping at the end of her bed got up exited, but Yang ignored him and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. 

She used to love taking showers. She would sing as loud as she could to annoy Ruby. Now she showered in silence, and when she got out it was still raining. 

With Zwei following her close, Yang went down to make herself some lunch. Only a sandwich, which was probably not as much as Tai would want her to eat, but it was something.

Zwei kept watching her.

“You want some?” She said holding the jam, as Zwei wagged his tail with excitement. 

She gave him some and sat on the counter to watch the rain from the window next to the sink. The sky was dark, and it seemed like the storm wouldn’t pass anytime soon. It wouldn’t surprise her if her father stayed overnight in Signal because of it. No one in their right mind would be outside with weather like that.

With that thought, someone knocked on the front door.

Yang didn’t move. She stared at the living room, even if she couldn’t see the front door, expecting something. Nothing happened.

She probably imagined it. The trees near her house were moving violently because of the wind, they were hitting against the roof…

 _Another knock_ , this time a little harder. Yang jumped off the counter, forgetting the sandwich existed. She definitely wasn’t imagining it.

Her first thought was to be afraid. Her heart was already beating fast against her chest, her breathing shaky.

It was probably a neighbor, or someone who needed help. It wasn’t anything bad. Why would something bad be knocking her door? 

One more time, a knock against the wooden door, this time quieter, almost shy and imperceptible because of the rain.

Trying to remember how to be brave, Yang walked to the front of the house slowly, almost expecting the door to burst into flames.

She opened it fast, the cold air of the rain hitting her immediately. A figure was leaving her porch, wearing a soaked dark cloak.

“Can I help you?” Yang asked, and the person froze.

And in that moment, somehow, Yang knew. 

The person turned around, finally showing her face.

Blake.

 _Blake_.

Yang felt a shiver run through her back, and legs, her arms and everything else. The whole word seemed to tremble, as if it was ripping apart from the inside.

Blake — _Blake_ — watched her with her eyes wide, as if she wasn’t expecting to see her, even if she had been the one to knock on her door.

They stayed in silence for a few moments, looking in each other’s eyes.

Blake spoke first.

“Hi.” She said out of breath. Yang could see her shivering. “I’m sorry for coming without telling you. A-and for leaving without telling you, I was- I mean, I’m not going to put any excuses. I was horrible, a-and I’ll hate myself forever, because you deserved better. You deserved so much better than me, and I don’t expect you to forgive me, b-but if you gave me a second chance, I- I promise, I… please say something, Yang.”

The tears she was holding fell. It had been so long since Yang had heard her saying her name.

“Blake?” Was the only thing Yang could say. 

Blake nodded, slowly. “Yes, it’s me. I’m here.”

Yang looked at her. She took a step back, and closed the door.

She stared at it for some moments, not moving, not breathing.

“Y-Yang?” Cried Blake from the other side. “I-I’m so sorry, Yang, I’m so sorry.”

She heard her weeping, loud enough that the rain couldn’t silence her.

And Yang was crying too. The place where her arm used to be burned, so she held the end of it, putting pressure in her scars to make her brain realize she _didn’t had an arm anymore_. She felt her chest tremble as she tried not to cry.

Why was Blake there? After so many months? Yang chest burned.

A thunder made the walls tremble. She could still hear Blake outside. 

She couldn’t had picked a better day. Yang couldn’t leave her outside, soaking wet, and even if she knew Blake was strong, the forest was dangerous when it rained. Still, Blake had been away for that long, did Yang even knew her? 

After fighting with herself, she made up her mind. Yang opened the door again, without realizing Blake had been leaning on it, falling to the floor of Xiao Long-Rose family home, soaked and crying, she stared at Yang.

Yang stared back, surprised at the sight of the girl on the floor.

“Get in.” 

Blake got up quickly as Yang closed the door, immediately blocking the cold wind. The sound of the rain was still strong, but inside it was warm. Again, both girls looked at each other.

Blake she licked her lips with doubt. “I-”

“You are going to get sick. You should take a bath.”

“W-what?”

Yang had no idea what she was saying either. She turned around and walked to the stairs. When she noticed Blake wasn’t following her, she made a sign for her to do so.

What was she even doing? She felt as if she was in autopilot, still not knowing how to react. Blake followed her, dripping water everywhere. 

Yang lead her to the bathroom, and then went to her old bedroom to get some clothes and a clean towel. Blake stared at her in shock, grasping the ends of the jacket under her cloak.

“Yang, I…”

But she didn’t finished. Yang took a deep breath and handed her the clothes and the towel.

“I’ll be downstairs.”

Blake stared from inside the bathroom as Yang closed the door. She stood there, however, for a few seconds as she heard Blake breathing fast and unsteady. After a few minutes, Yang heard the water being turned in.

She let out a breath, and realized she had being holding it for a long time. Finally, Yang turned around and went back downstairs. Zwei started from inside her new bathroom, almost knowing it was better to not come out.

The sandwich was on top of the counter, and still feeling numb, Yang finished eating it. The sound of the shower got mixed with the rain, and the sound of both made Yang’s head hurt. She poured a glass of water for herself, and one for Blake. _Blake_ , who was in her house.

Blake, in her house, showering. _Why_ was she showering? Yang had told her too.

Why had Yang told her to take a shower? Another thunder reminded her.

It all started to sink in her. Blake was there, in her house, taking a shower.

 _Blake_ was _there_.

And Yang had told her to take a shower, giving her own old clothes. What was she thinking? She really wasn’t.

Yang had dreamed with this, literally. Of waking up in Beacon, like nothing had ever happened, with Blake telling her they had to go to class. Or with years going by, and seeing Blake in some random street some random day. She had dreamed of Blake knocking her door. And now she had.

Yang needed time to process, to let her mind _start moving_ , but just like in Beacon, Blake’s shower was short. Yang heard the door of the bathroom opening, and Blake’s quick steps going down the hallway, until finally seeing her in the stairs.

Blake, in her house, after taking a shower, with Yang’s clothes on. It was too much. 

Yang, who hadn’t move from her place in the kitchen, pointed to the glass of water.

“Do you want water?”

Blake blinked. “Okay.” 

She took the glass carefully with one hand, while with the other she hanged on her wet clothes. Yang was already regretting all the shower thing. 

She extended her arm. Blake looked at it, then at the missing one, and then back at Yang. The blonde girl realized she hadn’t said anything. 

“Your clothes.” She said quickly. “So I hang them in the laundry.”

“Oh.” Blake was going to hand them, but stopped. “I can hang them.”

Again, silence. Yang nodded, and walked to the laundry, knowing Blake was behind her.

She guided her behind the kitchen, pointed out the cords for the clothes, and went back to the kitchen, leaving Blake to herself with the wet clothes and the glass of water still in hand. Yang stared at the counter, where the dish in which she had made the sandwich still laid. She quickly put it on the sink, and tried to focused and _think_ , until Blake came back too.

Blake was _back_.

They stared, again. Yang still didn’t know what to say. Should she be happy? Mad? Sad? 

Blake moved until being in front of Yang, with the glass of water still full. She took a small sip of it, more nervous than Yang had never seen her before.

They had to talk, even if Yang didn’t want too. She decided to start somewhere peaceful.

“How did you get here?”

Blake raised her head fast. “Uh, I came on a boat. From Menagerie.”

“That’s where you are from.” It wasn’t a question, but Blake nodded with a small smile.

“Yes, I… I went back to my family.”

Yang nodded too. “So that’s where you were.”

She said it too bitterly, and Blake noticed. Her cat ears tensed.

“I—”

“I’m glad.” Yang said quickly. “That you saw your family again.”

Blake took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m… I’m glad too.”

They stood in the kitchen for a few moments before Yang turned around and walked to the living room to sit in the couch. Blake followed nervously.

“H-How, uhm,” started the dark-haired girl, “how are you?”

Yang couldn’t help it. She snorted.

“I’m great.” She said bitterly. “Ruby left. She’s somewhere, doing something. And I’m here, I’m great.”

“Yang—”

“And my dad, you know, he is eating himself up, and he tries to pretend everything’s fine, but it’s not.” She laughed, even if nothing she was saying was funny. She still didn’t know how to react. “And he got me a new arm, but I don’t want to put it on because I— I don’t know. I don’t know why I don’t want a new arm. But have you seen they news? They are horrible. Vale is a mess, Beacon if full of grimm, the one Ruby stopped is frozen, and we don’t have news from pretty much anywhere. I don’t know anything. Ruby might as well be dead right now! And who knows where Weiss is. In Atlas, probably, but she hasn’t send any letters, and if she did they haven’t come. Her father took her, while you left. You _left_.”

The knuckles of her only hand were white, her hand closed in a fist and tears running down her face. 

Blake looked at her with her eyes wide and clouded with tears.

“I did.” She said with a shaky voice. “And I’m so, so sorry—”

“And you think being sorry fixes that?” Yang said raising her voice. The last thing she wanted was to lose her temper, but having _Blake there_ … 

“No! Of course not! But I’m back and—”

“And that’s supposed to be enough?” Yang cried with pain. “What if I don’t want you back, huh?”

Blake was holding herself, her chest trembling from crying. “I’ll go if you want me too.”

Yang stood up and took a step back, something twitching inside her. “Would you? If I told you to leave, would you?”

When Blake was about to nod, she wiped her tears away. 

“No. I-I would give you time. But I’m not going.”

“Why?”

Blake’s voice broke. “Because _I_ want to be here.”

She took a step closer, still being far away.

“I missed you Yang. So much. And not a day went by where I didn’t thought of you.” 

“But you still left! You choose to leave me!”

 _Fuck_. She hadn’t meant to say ‘me’. Blake bit her lip with frustration.

“I-I thought I was protecting you.”

“Really? You really thought that?”

“I was afraid! Adam said…” 

“What?”

Blake opened her mouth, and then close it again. “He… said that he would destroyed the new life I’ve made. And then you came in, and he knew you were my partner. And he a-attacked you, and almost killed me, and it was all my fault.”

She sat back on the couch, holding herself. A loud thunder rumbled in the sky, making Yang shudder. She shook her head, her heart beating faster and faster.

“Gosh, Blake, I never blamed you for this.” Yang said, raising her missing arm. “It wasn’t your fault. He is the monster. But then _you_ ran away. _You_ did that.” 

Blake looked up, her eyes still watery. “I know.”

“It doesn’t change because you are back.”

“I know.”

There was only the sound of the rain against the walls,

“So?” Yang asked. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m staying.” Said Blake without doubt, but then added. “Well, uhm, for a month.”

Yang snorted and looked away. “A month? You have somewhere to go?” 

“Mistral. Cinder is planning an attack in Heaven Academy.”

“Wait, what?”

Playing with the wet tips of her hair, Blake told Yang about coming home about a month ago, followed by Sun, to discover the White Fang still had power there, and that Adam had plans to attack Heaven. Blake explained that after fights and almost burned down houses, she had managed to convince her people to fight for Mistral. 

“My parents are leading everyone to Mistral now.” She finished. “Sun and Ilia are with them, training everyone.”

“Why are you here?” Asked Yang. She was still mad, but everything Blake was telling her was just… unbelievable. 

“For you.” Said Blake immediately. “I went home to heal, and talking to my parents, and Sun and Ilia… I realized some things. You are my family. You, Ruby and Weiss, I… I love you. The four of you. I needed to make up for what I did. My parents can handle everything for a few weeks; I’ll be back before the attack happens.”

Yang stayed in silence for some moments, processing everything Blake had said.

“And then what?” 

“Then, I’ll look for Ruby and Weiss.”

“You alone?”

“Well…” Blake moved in her place, nervous. “I would like it if you came with me, but I don’t expect you too.”

Yang frowned. “Why? Because I’m weak now?”

Blake went pale.

“N-no! Of course not.” She said quickly. “I know you hate me, I couldn’t ask you to come with me after everything.”

 _I don’t hate you_ , wanted to say Yang. But she didn’t. She sighed and looked outside. It hadn’t stopped raining, but it was calmer now. 

Yang stood up and went back to the kitchen, without saying anything. She began boiling some water, and sat on the counter. 

After a few seconds, Blake entered slowly, and leaned on the fridge.

“Where did Ruby go?” 

_Another thing that made Yang anxious._ “I don’t know. She left before winter, saying she needed to do something. We haven’t heard anything since.”

“Oh, Brothers. I didn’t know it was that long.” She looked at Yang, who was tapping her feet against the counter, and got closer. “Ruby is strong, I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Maybe she went to look for Weiss, or Jaune, Nora and Ren.” Said Blake. “Maybe she went to Beacon to help.”

“Maybe.” Yang sighed. “I just hope she isn’t alone.”

“Knowing Ruby, even if she was she would be making friends along her way.”

That made Yang smile. Her sister was going to be fine. She had to be. The water began boiling, and Yang stood up to grab two cups and coffee, but as she reached for the jar of coffee, she stopped.

“I’ll be right back.” She said frowning, and rushed up stairs.

 _I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do this_ , she kept saying to herself as she went to her old room and looked in her closet for the few things she had gotten back from her room in Beacon. She grabbed a box with gift-wrap, and unwrapped it as she went back to the kitchen.

Blake watched her as she threw the gift-wrap in the bin and opened the box. It was tea.

Yang prepared the two cups and filled them with the boiling water. She handed one to Blake. 

Immediately, Blake recognized it. “It’s white lotus tea.”

“Yep.” Yang said, suddenly nervous. “I was going to give it to you for your birthday, a lady from Vacuo was selling it in the Vytal Festival.”

“Oh.” Blake felt her chest tremble with guilt. “Thank you. I always wanted to try it, but it was impossible to find it in Vale.” 

“I know.” She shouldn’t answer so quickly. She heard a noise from upstairs, and smirked. “Brace yourself.”

“What?”

Zwei came running and barking from the stairs, and immediately Blake rushed to the counter Yang used to be and hopped up, her tea almost spilling.

Yang bent to pet her dog, and smiled at the sight of Blake. It was too much like Beacon.

“I… almost forgot about this guy.” She said, relaxing a little bit, but still sitting on the counter.

Yang smiled. “How can you forget about a fella this cute? Who is a good boy, huh?”

As she pet Zwei, she didn’t saw the tender smile Blake was giving her.

They drank their tea almost in silence, occasionally asking the other about people they knew. 

They talked about Pyrrha and Penny, mourning their deaths.

“I still can’t believe Cinder was behind everything.” Said Blake, wiping her tears away. “Her, Emerald and Mercury. We trusted them.”

“I know. At least I know that what happened to him wasn’t my fault.”

“Of course it wasn’t. They used you, they use us all.”

Night fell while they talked. Yang was still mad. Something inside her pulled every time she saw Blake. She still couldn’t believe she was _there_ , her hair barely damp from the shower, cascading down her shoulder, wearing Yang’s big shirt and her shorts, her faunus ears uncovered. She looked a different, more grown up.

They were both still on edge. Blake seemed to be afraid to say too much, and Yang just didn’t wanted to talk either. Her mind still seemed frozen, in too much of a shock to process. 

The sun was setting when they heard the door of the house opening. 

“I’m home!” Said Taiyang closing the door. “Sorry I’m late, the streets were full of— oh.”

He stopped at the door of the kitchen, holding grocery bags and a backpack. He stared at both girls, confused.

“Dad, this… this is Blake.”

Blake immediately got down the counter. “Hello, sir.”

Tai stared, now even more confused. 

“Yes, Blake, of course, hi. I’ve heard so much about you.” He said as he left the bags on the table, his eyes jumping from one girl to the other. “What a surprise to have you here.”

Blake blushed with embarrassment. “That’s why I’m here. To try and mend my wrongs.”

Tai looked at his daughter, trying to read her expression. “Okay then, are you staying for dinner?”

“Oh, no, I don’t want to impose myself.”

Yang knew that tone. “Where are you staying?”

“Uhm, around.” Said Blake, trying to sound convincing. “I’ll manage.”

“It’s still raining, Blake, and knowing you, you are going to spend the night in a hollow tree.”

Blake’s face turned red, and wasn’t able to say she wasn’t.

Yang bit a smile away. “I’ll prepare Ruby’s room for you.”

Before Blake could complain, Yang left the kitchen and headed upstairs. She didn’t like going there more than necessary. Something about the room she shared with her sister made her feel sick.

Maybe it was it reminded her of Ruby, or because it reminded Yang of _herself_ , the person she was before.

Yang wasn’t sure if she missed that old Yang, or hated her for being so reckless.

She changed the sheets of her old bed and cleaned some of the dust. She would have felt wrong giving Blake Ruby’s old bed, like if she were betraying Ruby in some way, or accepting she was probably not coming back. 

When the room was ready, Yang left to get back to the kitchen, but stopped before entering.

“—tell you how much it hurt Yang that you left.” Taiyang was saying.

Blake sighed. “I-I know. It hurt me too.”

“So why _did_ you left?

“I don’t think it’s fair for me to put excuses.” Said Blake, her tone low. “It seemed like the best thing to do at the time. I thought I was putting her and the others in danger by staying.”

“Where you?”

Blake didn’t answer immediately.

“Yes. But leaving without saying anything wasn’t the right choice. I should have stayed.”

“Yes, you should have.” Yang couldn’t see their faces, but her father’s voice didn’t seemed as harsh as his words. “But you came back. That’s more than other people can say.”

They stayed in silence a few seconds, and Yang was about to come in when Tai spoke again.

“Qrow told me a little about that night, when Beacon fell.” He started. “Yang was looking for you, and when that man attacked her, she passed out.”

“I-I know it was my fault, I—”

“He told me she would have bleed out if she hadn’t been carried away. And you did that. You saved her.”

They stayed quiet, and when Yang peeked inside, she found her father hugging Blake. 

“Thank you, Blake. For saving Yang, and for coming back.”

Yang turned around and left. 

She went to porch at the side of the house, and sat to watch the rain. It fell slowly, barely hearable. She could see lighting in the distance, but there was no thunder. The real storm was now far away.

The door to the porch opened, and Blake peeked out. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t knew you were here.”

“Yes you did. You heard me leaving the kitchen.” 

Blake stood still, but Yang smiled.

“He is right.” Yang continued. “You saved my life.”

“After I ruined it.”

“No, Blake, this,” she said pointing to her missing arm, “this didn’t ruin my life. It made it harder, yes, but it didn’t ruin it. It’s… it’s just an arm. I’m in peace with it. I lost my arm, and I don’t regret it.”

Blake stood quiet, without moving, looking at Yang. 

Yang looked away. “It was either you, or me. I choose you, and I’ll do it again.”

They stayed in silence until dinner, and once they sat in the table with Tai much wasn’t said either. Taiyang talked to them about his day, about Mistral and some things about Beacon.

Blake washed the dishes, even when Tai said he would do it. It was early when they went upstairs, but everyone was tired. It had been an emotional day, to say the least.

Yang opened the door to her old room for Blake, and the dark-haired girl entered with curiosity. “It this Ruby’s room?”

“Yeah, mine too, but I’ve been sleeping in the guest room for the last couple of months.”

Blake didn’t say anything, she just nodded and saw her surroundings. Yang suddenly felt nervous, and pointed to her own bed.

“I prepared that bed for you, and I think this should fit you.” She handed her some old pajama with little flowers, but big enough.

Blake took it with a smile. “Thank you. I’m sorry.” 

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I don’t know. I have too many things to be sorry for.”

Yang took a deep breath, and shrugged. “Maybe. Stop thinking about it. Being sorry forever it’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, you are right.”

They stood in the room for some moments. It didn’t rain anymore, but the cold air had stayed. 

“Can I ask you one last thing?” Said Blake. “Only if you want to, of course, you don’t—”

Yang almost smiled. “What do you need?”

For a moment, Blake didn’t answer. She seemed almost afraid.

“I, uhm, I wanted a hug?” She gulped, nervous. “You really don’t have to.”

Yang stood still. She wasn’t expecting that.

But at the same time, she wasn’t expecting Blake. In her house. In her clothes, and about to sleep in her old bed.

“It’s okay.” She said, slowly getting closer. “A little hug is fine.”

It was Yang who put her arms around Blake first. She just wanted a quick hug, and then back to her room and to sleep. But the second Blake hugged her back, Yang noticed two things:

First, Blake had grown some inches. Not many, and Yang had earned some height too, but Blake was definitely a little taller. She was also stronger. Her arms and shoulders felt wider. 

Second, Yang realized all of that because she had thought of Blake every day since Beacon. She had tried remembering every interaction they had, almost to convince herself that it was real. Blake had once _cared_ for her. 

And a third thing she was just discovering: she knew she missed Blake before, but she hadn’t understood how much. She had missed her too much. So much it hurt, and now she was there, it seemed to hurt even more.

And Yang embraced it.

She hugged Blake harder, most desperate, and Blake did the same. The dark-haired girl wrapped her arms around her neck, and Yang, who had wrapped her only arm around her waist, almost lifted her off the ground.

She buried her face in Blake’s neck, and tried not to cry, while Blake slowly caressed her hair. 

Yang had missed her too much, just _too much_.

They hugged for a while, and when they broke off, there were tears falling from Blake’s eyes. She quickly wiped them away, but Yang saw.

When she went back to her room, she cried too.


	2. Chapter 2

Blake woke up, and for a second, she really thought she was in Beacon. The way the light entered to the room, the sound of Zwei running around, and the smell of Yang. 

The bed smelled like Yang. That brought her to the reality: she was in Yang’s home, sleeping in her old bed. 

Of course Yang hadn’t told her that, but Blake knew the second she saw at the bed that it used to be Yang’s. The yellowish colors of the sheets, a ‘Y’ carved in the side of the bed, and being on the side of the room that was clearly Yang’s, with posters of different bands and books.

After stretching in the bed, Blake got up and changed to the clothes Yang had lend her the day before.

It was crazy. After so many months missing her — _yearning_ her— she was there. 

But Blake wasn’t stupid, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But still she had to try. 

“ _You tell us when, and we’ll send a boat for you._ ” Her father had told her.

“ _You should be able to spend little less than a month there._ ” Said her mother, smiling. “ _Are you sure you want to do this?_ ”

Blake was sure, but it was scary. 

She wanted to let Yang know she was going beforehand, but the letter would have arrived later than her anyway.

With a sighed, the dark-haired girl made the bed and left the pajama folded on it. She had to look for a place to stay. The lady from the bar in the center of Patch had been nice enough to let her leave her bag there, and it had been her plan to go back that bar to search for a place to stay the night.

But yesterday had went… very different from what she thought. Blake wasn’t sure if it was good different, or bad different.

Yang was mad, she could see that. But she had also told her to take a bath and to stay. And when they hugged before bed… Blake had felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time; _hope_.

In the light of the day, the room was clearer and bright, even if there were still clouds in the sky outside. Blake got closer to the bookshelf, and recognized many of the books Yang had. There were some pictures, some of the Xiao Long-Rose family, and others of a Yang before Beacon, with people Blake didn’t knew.

Maybe she shouldn’t be peering around, but it was Yang’s room before Beacon. Blake couldn’t help herself.

The desk was quite empty, there were only some old notebooks and letters, all address to Yang, and all unopened.

Blake decided that it was enough looking around. She turned around to the door.

When she opened it, Blake immediately found herself with a raised hand ready to knock. Yang gulped.

“Oh, hi.” She said, quickly lowering her hand. “Good morning.”

Blake felt a pressure in her chest. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Uhm, yeah, sure.” Yang made a pause. “And you?”

“Yeah, yeah, the bed is really comfortable.”

“Oh, good.”

They stood in silence. 

“I—”

“There’s—”

Blake chuckled. “Sorry, you go first.”

“Breakfast is ready.” Said Yang, almost smiling. “You are staying for breakfast, right?”

And there was something in the way she said it, that almost sound like a request.

“Uhm, yes, of course”. Said Blake, and then quickly added. “If you’ll have me.”

Yang stared, and for a moment she didn’t say anything. Blake didn’t felt herself breathing.

“Yeah, you can stay for breakfast.”

They walked together down the hallway and the stairs. Tai was already in the table of the kitchen reading the newspaper, a cup of coffee by his side.

“Do you want tea or coffee?” Asked Yang, somehow holding both boxes with her single hand. Blake looked at her impressed.

“Tea.” She answered after a moment. “But don’t worry, I can make it.”

“ _I_ can do it too.”

Blake stopped on her place, and stared at Yang’s annoyed expression. 

“I can _do_ stuff. I’m not useless.”

“I-I didn’t say you were.”

Yang didn’t answer. She grabbed a cup and put the tea bag on it. Blake saw her movements with attention, and then sat on the table. When she turned her head, she noticed Tai watching them.

“So, Blake.” He said, putting the newspaper down. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you for letting me stay.” She said the last part looking at Yang, but the blonde girl didn’t look back.

“Do you know where you are going to stay?” Asked Tai, holding his mug. “Many of lodgings are full this days, because of displaced people from Vale.”

“Oh, I didn’t knew that.” Said Blake, suddenly feeling very dumb. “I’ll manage. I left my bag in a bar downtown, I’ll ask there.”

Tai looked at her for some moments, then at Yang. “Okay.”

Yang left the cup of tea in front of Blake and sat by her side with one of her own.

The three of them drank quietly, but in her head Blake was yelling at herself. She should had thought a little before rushing into this.

As always, she had been so selfish. She had appeared in Yang’s house out of nowhere, stayed the night, and now she had probably nowhere to go. 

She was so stupid, and selfish, and inconsiderate. How could she hope Yang would ever forgive her if she was still so horrible? Was she ever going to learn from her mistakes? 

“Blake.”

The dark-haired girl turn around to see her friend — _was Yang still her friend?_. “Yeah?”

“I was asking you if you wanted me to go with you downtown.”

 _Yes, yes, yes_. “I mean, if you don’t have anything else to do.”

Tai stifled a laughed and looked at his daughter almost teasingly.

“Do you even remember how the town looks like?”

“I remember fine!” Said Yang, smiling. “If anyone should be concern about remembering, it should be you.”

“Are you calling me old?”

“Your words, not mine.”

Tai laughed while folding the newspaper, and got up. “I have to get going to Signal, but have a good day you two.”

Both Blake and Yang waved goodbye, and stayed in silence again.

When the front door closed, Yang finished her tea and got up. “I’m going to take a shower. Do you want to get going after?”

“Sure.” 

Yang half smiled, and went up the stairs. Blake finished her tea alone, dark thoughts still going through her mind.

The city of Patch wasn’t very big. Signal Academy was on the center of the town, and around it, different shops and business opened its doors. It reminded Blake a little of Vale, but it was much smaller. 

The walk from the Xiao Long-Rose home wasn’t very long, but Blake noticed Yang being a little tired. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, just… a little out of shape.” She answered. “Where did you said you left your bag?”

“In a bar a couple of blocks from here, the ‘Huntsman’s’ something.”

Yang sighed and tilted her head. “The ‘Huntsman’s Lounge’. Yeah, I know that place.”

The closer they were to Signal, the more people there were. Yang grabbed Blake’s arm to keep them from separating, and lead them to the bar. Blake felt her heart dancing, and hated herself for that. It was _not_ the time for that. She had lost her chances (if she even had one) a long time ago.

Many people around were from Vale, Blake noticed, for their clothes and accent, and were talking and walking through the streets loudly.

“By the way,” asked Yang raising her voice. “How did you find my house?”

Blake felt her face warming up. “Oh, uhm, the lady from the bar told me. She asked my where I was going, and when I told her I was looking for a friend who lived in the outside of the city, she immediately said your name.”

They spotted the bar at the end of the street, but Yang seemed to want to turn and walk away. “Well, this will be interesting then.”

“Why? Do you know her?”

“Kinda.” Yang said, but then looked at Blake and added. “Her children know me.”

They entered the bar, not as full as the streets, but almost every table had people. Two young waiters walked around them taking orders and leaving them in the counter, where the lady Blake had talked to handed them to the cook.

Yang was still holding Blake’s arm when one of the waiters turned around and gasped.

“Holy shit! Yang?” the girl screamed, leaving her tray in a table and rushing to them. Immediately she jumped to hug Yang,

The other waiter, a boy with the same bright ginger hair as her, turned around at the commotion and smiled. Something about them was familiar to Blake.

“Yang Xiao Long! How long!” He got closer too, and hugged Yang.

But, Blake noticed, Yang wasn’t as thrilled.

“Where the heck have you been, sugar?” Asked the girl. Her bangs almost covered her eyes, and she was chewing gum loudly as she spoke.

Yang smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You know, around.”

“Fuck, what happened to you?” Said the boy, looking directly at Yang’s arm. Well, the _missing_ one.

Yang immediately hid it behind her body, and didn’t answered. 

The girl covered her mouth with both her hands. “Did that happened in Beacon? That’s why you’ve been missing all this time?”

“I, uh…” Yang turned her head, and looked at Blake, almost begging.

She understood. “Hi, I’m Blake.”

The boy and the girl turned to see her.

“Oh, hi, I’m Russet, and this is my brother Moche.” She said, smiling again. “Ah! You are the girl who came yesterday and left a bag, right? Mom was worried when you didn’t come back. She thought you may have been attacked by grimm.”  
Moche nodded. “Yeah, but I saw you leaving so I told her ‘Blake Belladonna is too brawny to be striky’.”

“That’s not even funny.” 

Blake blinked. “How do you know my name?”

“Don’t you remember us?” Asked Moche. “Rude.”

And suddenly, it all came back. “You went to Beacon.”

The two siblings smiled brightly. “Yeah! We are team ROUS!”

Blake vaguely remembered them. They didn’t shared many classes with them, but she had noticed them talking to Yang during the first weeks in Beacon. 

“Olive and Umber were here just two hours ago,” said Moche to Yang, “it’s a shame you missed them! They have been writing to you too.”

“Where have you been, anyways?”

Yang looked between them. “You know, home.”

“What?” Asked Russet. “Are you telling me that we have been trying to write to you for four months when you were less than half an hour away?”

Yang opened her mouth to answer, but the lady from the counter did first.

“Is it your lunch break and I’m just finding out or— Yang?” Said the woman, and left the counter to come and hug Yang. 

Judging for her bight ginger hair, she was Russet and Moche’s mother.

But Blake focused on Yang. She seemed completely uncomfortable, and Blake felt guilty for making her come.

“You two go and take orders.” Said the lady to Russet and Moche, and both siblings rolled their eyes and waved before leaving. That’s when the woman noticed Blake. “Oh, there you are! I was worried when you didn’t came back! All that rain yesterday… but I see you found dear Yang!”

Blake couldn’t even answer when the woman turned around and gestured for them to follow her. She took them to a small office on the side of the bar, and took from it Blake’s bag.

“Thank you so much, and sorry for worrying you.” Said Blake with a grateful smile.

“It was nothing, dear.” Said the lady, and turned to Yang. “Oh, Yang, where have you been? We have all been so worried, your father said you needed space and that you would come to us when you wanted too, but four months…”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Scarlet.” Said Yang with an apologetic smile.

“Four months!” She repeated. “I was so worried for all of you kids. When Beacon fell and I couldn’t reach Russet and Moche… I was so scared! They told me your sister froze a Wyvern, is that true?”

Mrs. Scarlet’s face was full of curiosity, so much that she didn’t see (or cared to see) Yang’s discomfort.

“Ruby is traveling right now.” Answered Blake, even if that wasn’t the answer to the woman’s question. “Actually Yang and I should really get going, we have a long afternoon ahead.”

“Oh, well, of course.” The lady said. “But come back later!”

Russet and Moche waved at them as they left, and once they were outside the bar, Yang let out a deep sigh.

“Thank you.” She said to Blake. “I really wanted to get out of there.”

The dark-haired girl smiled with care. “Yeah, I noticed.” 

“You did?”

“Of course.” 

And then Yang smiled. She _really_ smiled, and Blake couldn’t help but to smile too. 

“I barely remembered them from Beacon.” Blake said, following Yang as they made their way back.

“Yeah.” Said Yang softly, lost in her thoughts. 

“Were you friends with them? I-if you want to talk about it, of course.”

Yang smirked and nodded.

“We were friends in Signal. Russet, Moche, Olive, Umber and I. We got in kinda of fight in Beacon, they wanted us all to cheat and be together in the same team.”

“And you didn’t?”

“Nope, but I was going to do it anyways.”

Blake froze. “Really? And what happened?”

“I found you first.”

This time Blake really stopped walking. She looked down, a sad expression on her face.

Yang, carefully, touched her wrist. “I’m glad I did.”

“Are you, really?”

It took her a moment to reply. 

“Even if things aren’t great between us right now, I’m glad I meet you.” 

Then she turned around, and kept walking. Blake stared at her back before following her. “W-where are we going?”

“Home.” Answered Yang. “It’s a mess downtown, you shouldn’t stay here.”

Blake stared. She couldn’t have heard that correctly.

“You want me to stay with you?”

“There’s probably no more space in the lodgings, and if there is it will be expensive.” Said Yang, and looked back at Blake. “ _If_ you want to stay with us.”

“Of course! If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.”

Yang nodded and kept walking, Blake following close behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spend more time looking for colors to name those characters than writting the entire thing.  
> I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you think in the comments, thanks for reading! <3


	3. Chapter 3

When they got back home, Yang went straight to her old room and cleared her old closet to leave space for Blake.

While her guest shyly ordered her clothes, Yang went down to the back of the house. 

She felt she couldn’t breathe, or that she could breathe too much. It didn’t make sense, but she didn’t know how else to describe it. 

Having Blake there had been weird from the start, and Yang wanted to be mad. How couldn’t she be mad? Blake had left her in the worst moment of her life, when she needed her the most.

And maybe that was the real problem: how much had Yang needed her.

But then Blake came back. She had left everything else, and gotten out of her way to fight for a second chance. No one had done that for Yang before.

And that day, when Yang had seen her old friends after avoiding them for months, Blake had noticed and gotten her out. She _noticed_.

Yang wanted to be mad, but it was hard. Blake made it very hard.

She sat on the grass and stared at the sky. It was still cloudy, but it didn’t seemed like it was going to rain again. The cold air made her shiver, but Yang liked it. Being around Blake made her feel warm, which was fine in Beacon, when they were still naive.

But three months of staring at the window had made Yang realize some things. Feelings she wished didn’t existed. It was no news that after Beacon she had been in a dark place, and what she had felt for Blake had not helped at all. It made her miss her even more.

A loud noise came from inside the house, making Yang lose her train of thought. She rushed inside, hearing a shriek coming from the kitchen, but as soon as she entered the room, she couldn’t help but to smile.

Blake, standing in the counter hugging a pot, looked with distress at Zwei, who was happily wagging is tail while watching her.

“He scared me!” Blake said when she saw Yang standing by the door. “I swear he came out of nowhere.”

“I’m sure he did.” Said Yang as she took Zwei and out of the kitchen. She walked to the counter and offered her a hand to get down. Blake took it and jumped down. 

It felt like the old days. They looked at each other’s eyes, still holding hands.

 _It really is like the old days_. Yang felt something inside, almost pulling her into Blake. She wanted to mess around like they used to do, joke with her, dance with her, talk to her.

That was the toughest part; the only person she wanted to talk about how she was feeling about Blake being back, was Blake. 

Yang let go of her hand. “What are you doing?” 

“Oh.” Blake looked at the pot in her hand. “I wanted to make some lunch.”

“Lunch? You, Blake Belladonna, who burned a sandwich while toasting it, want to make lunch?”

“That was one time!” Said Blake, hugging the pot. “Fine, two, but still…”

“Two times!” Yang laughed. “I didn’t know it was two.”

Blake looked at her with bright eyes. “I know how to cover my tracks.”

Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to say. Yang’s smile weakened, and she immediately saw the terror in Blake’s eyes.

But Yang didn’t feel like being angry in that moment. She took the pot, holding it from below.

“I’ll cook. You are the guest after all.”

Holding her breath, Blake nodded. “Fine, but I want to help.”

Yang decided to make something simple, just rice with sauteed vegetables. She gave the vegetables to Blake to cut, and as the sword fighter she was, she cut them quickly and just as Yang had told her to. 

Carrots, corn, bell pepper, onions and zucchini, all went to the wok as Yang prepared the rice. Cooking wasn’t as easy with only one arm, but with patience she managed.

Focused of cooking, she didn’t noticed it was the first time in months she was making a good healthy meal for herself.

“Isn’t the fire too low?” Asked Blake, sitting on the counter, watching the pot with rice.

“It won’t cook as good with very high heat.”

“Why not? Is the same.” Blake frowned when she noticed Yang chuckling. “What?”

Yang stirred the vegetables with a smile. “I can almost hear Weiss saying ‘such patience in the battlefield, yet so hasty in the kitchen’.”

“She is one to talk. She didn’t even know how to turn on the oven back in Beacon.”

“And when Ruby tried to teach her…”

“I still don’t understand how the managed to break it.”

Yang left the wooden spoon and stood straight.

“Children, do you really need to destroy _something_ every single week?” She said imitating Professor Goodwitch.

Blake started laughing loudly, bending over herself. And Yang, watching her, felt that warmth again.

Once all was ready, Blake prepared the table and served the food on plates. They both sat next to each other, eager to eat.

“It’s delicious, Yang.” Said Blake after the first bite. “Thank you.”

“It was nothing. Is a really simple meal.”

“Still, is amazing.”

Yang was genuinely happy. It had been so long since she had made food for herself, actual good and healthy food with vegetables. She felt proud of herself, which was another thing that hadn’t happened in a while.

She had forgotten she actually liked cooking. She wasn’t perfect, but simple and tasty meals like these were her favorites. Even more when she had someone to share them with. Tai usually wasn’t home for lunch.

They ate in silence for a while. Yang watched Blake from the corner of her eye, noticing the pensive look in dark-haired girl. She would had asked what was wrong, but something still stopped her.

Today had been good. Maybe too good, even seeing her old “friends” again, something Yang had feared since she had been back home, hadn’t been as bad with Blake there.

_That’s what can’t happen._

She heard Blake taking air, as if she were about to start talking, but then said nothing. Yang tried not to turn to see her, but when she did, Blake was staring directly at her. Both turned their heads away quickly.

Blake washed the dishes when they finished eating, and again both were left in silence.

The sky was still full of clouds, this time darker, and there was a humidity in the air. It was going to rain again, Yang was sure.

“Do you want to train?” Suddenly asked Blake. Yang turned to see her.

“Uhm…” She looked down to her feet, nervously. “I haven’t train in a while.”

She expected the sad face her father always made, but instead Blake nodded. “Okay, I’m going to go outside for a bit, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, sure, do what you want.”

Blake nodded a few times, and then went quickly upstairs to grab her weapons. Yang followed her with her eyes, but stayed in the kitchen as Blake headed outside.

She didn’t move. She heard her running outside, warming up as she used to do in Beacon. Jogging a lap, then stretching, then running three laps. After that, Blake would start practicing lunges, testing her speed and her semblance.

She did that same sequence there, in Yang’s backyard. Blake was a skilled fighter, she knew what she was doing. 

Then why did Yang want to go and check up on her? She should be mad. She _was_ mad. But she also wanted to go and check up on her. 

Yang left the kitchen and exited the house, immediately finding a sweaty Blake in a black top fighting with the air. Noise of thunder came from the sky, every moment darker, gaving Blake a dangerous look.

Yang felt nothing. She didn’t, at all. At least she _wanted_ to feel nothing.

Blake jumped, dropping her sword, but then used her semblance to appear crouched on the ground, ready to re-grab the handle and attack upward. There was no enemy, no real battle, but Yang saw her power. And she admired it.

When Blake got up, brushing her hair off her face, Yang noticed something. She hadn’t seen it before, when Blake had her jacket, but now, only wearing a top and low rise pants, Yang noticed the pink scar in the shape of a cross on her left hip.

She gulped, as she felt a chill ran through her arm— the _missing_ one.

Blake stared back, until she noticed what Yang was watching. “Yang…”

But before she could do anything, Yang trembled and stepped back. Like a flash, images of the cafeteria in Beacon, the smoke and the ashes mixed with the clouds, the thunder in the distance grew stronger in her head, and she couldn’t hear anything else.

That man, with dark clothes, red hair, Yang had never heard his voice in Beacon. But she _heard_ it in her dreams, when she was alone. Now it was screaming into her ears.

Blake was in front of her, lying dead in the floor, all because Yang wasn’t fast enough, and now she was bleeding out too. She had no arm, no partner, and he laughed, saying over and over again; “was that your best?”.

“Yang.” She heard far away. “Breathe.”

Was she not breathing? She hadn’t noticed. She didn’t notice anything. She couldn’t feel anything, just hear his laugh and mockery.

Blake’s eyes were dull, without life, and the bright amber light they once had was completely gone. 

“Yang.” She heard again, this time closer, and when Yang looked up, Blake was there. “Yang, what do you need?”

But it wasn’t. Those images, his _voice_ , were part of the dreams she had. And she was awake now. 

Blake looked at her, barely grabbing her hands. “Do you see anything green?”

Out of breath, Yang frowned, even more confused. Still, she tried to point at the ground. She noticed then she was sitting on it.

“Okay, yes.” Said Blake. “Now, can you see anything, uhm… grey?”

Yang looked around, her vision blurry with tears, and coughed. “C-clouds.”

“Yeah, yes, the clouds. And— oh, what can you feel?”

That made her think. She realized she felt wetness: she looked up, and saw it was raining. “Rain.”

“Yeah.” Blake was looking up too. “And what’s my name?”

“Blake.”

“And yours?”

“Yang.”

Blake smiled. “And you are?”

Her breathing was stabilizing, and the images of her dreams were gone. “I’m Yang.”

“Yes, but you are…?”

The blonde girl looked confused. “… Yang?”

Blake smiled. “You are safe, and you are strong. You are not alone.”

And even if ‘alone’ was something Yang always knew she was, in that moment she believed her partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was way too hard to write. Anyways, i hope you enjoyed! I promise this is not going to be angsty forever.
> 
> Tell me what you think if you'd like! Thanks for reading <3


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn’t raining too hard, barely a drizzle. They stayed outside for some moments as Yang breathed, the cold raindrops helping her come back to reality. Blake was holding her hand, sitting on the grass in front of her. It had hurt so much to see Yang struggling like that, and Blake had frozen. 

She had never seen Yang like that. It had scared her.

To know she had so much pain inside… it made Blake sick. She didn’t wanted Yang to go through that. But she had, she had for a while, and Blake hadn’t been there.

“Do you want to stay here for a little longer?” Asked Blake softly. “Or maybe go inside?” 

Yang gulped and nodded. “Inside.” 

Blake helped her up, and hold Yang by the side as they slowly made their way upstairs.

“I’m gonna take a bath.” Said Yang.

Blake tried to not look so worried. “Okay, tell me if you need anything.”

With a nod, Yang turned around and went straight to the bathroom, the noise of water followed shortly. Blake went to her room and got changed.

The day felt incredibly long. First meeting Yang’s old friends, then making lunch, then training, and now this. Blake wasn’t sure how to feel, about her and Yang and both of them. Yang was mad at her, but sometimes she wasn’t, and she was nice to her, but also curt.

Blake was expecting mad, but the mix of emotions confused her. Although that happened before too, but Blake _didn’t_ wanted to think about _that_. 

The shower was still on, so Blake went downstairs to make some tea. 

Was it bad that she thought about Beacon, though? She knew she _shouldn’t_ , Beacon was like talking about another life; things had changed too much since then. _But_ —Blake really shouldn’t be thinking about this— they were still them. Kind of. Maybe.

Back in Beacon, Blake had started feeling things. But, of course, Beacon had fallen, and with it her feeling should fall too. After everything she had done, she didn’t deserved…

“Blake?” Yang’s voice came from upstairs. She didn’t sound in distress, but Blake ran to the bathroom door as if there was a fire.

“Yes?”

“I…” she heard her sighed from the other side. “I’m sorry to bother you—”

“Don’t worry! You are not.”

“Okay, uhm, I forgot my towel in my room, could you—?”

She hadn’t finished the sentence, Blake was already marching to her bedroom and opening the door. The towel was fold on top of the bed, so quickly the dark-haired girl went to grab it.

But from the corner of her eye, in the bedside table next to the bed, there was a bright metal prosthetic. 

Blake froze for a second. She had completely forgotten about Yang telling her about it. 

But she shook her head and turned away, back to the bathroom. She knocked carefully, and the door opened slightly, enough for Blake to poke her hand with the towel. Yang’s pale hand reached from behind the door, and after a quick “thank you” she closed it again.

Blake let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, and went back to the kitchen. The water was already boiling, so she turned the fire off and served the cups of tea. She tried not to think of the arm in the bedside table, but she couldn’t stop. Yang had a chance to go — _relatively_ — back to normal.

She put both cups on a tray and went back upstairs. Yang was already in her room, with the door closed.

Blake knocked cautiously. “Yang?”

“Give me sec.” She heard from the other side. Then the sound of some drawers closing. “Come in.”

Slowly, Blake opened the door, giving Yang time to tell her to leave, but it didn’t happen. Yang was carefully putting styling cream in her hair and brushing it, and half smiled at Blake from the mirror. It made Blake’s heart flutter a little.

“I have tea.”

“Oh, thank you.” 

Blake left the tray in the desk. Suddenly she felt very awkward. “Uh, how are you feeling?”

“Better.” Yang put down the comb and turned around to grab one of the cups. “Thank you, by the way.”

“It was nothing.”

“It was for me.” 

This was exactly the kind of stuff that confused Blake.

“Sometimes I get flashes from that night, although they don’t usually end that bad.” Yang said laughing bitterly. 

“It’s okay.” Blake bit her lip. “I understand. It… hasn’t been easy for me either.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… it lead me to poor decision making.”

Yang stared at her for some moments, and then looked back down at her cup. “Not all of them. You reconnected with your parents, didn’t you?”

“Yeah… yes, you’re right.” 

Feeling she should stop talking, Blake grabbed her own cup. She looked around the room, trying to ignore the arm. The room didn’t quite feel like Yang, it barely had anything, really, and felt empty.

In the desk, however, there were a couple of books pilled up, and Blake almost spit out her tea. “You have it.”

Yang looked up at her with confusion. “What?”

“My book. ‘The Man With Two Souls.’”

“Oh.” For the first time Yang looked nervous. “Sorry, it was in my bags in Beacon, so they brought it home with me.”

“No, it’s okay. I just thought I had lost it.” Blake gulped. “Did you finished it?”

“Yes, actually.” Yang said smiling. “It… wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

Blake smiled too. “I knew you would end up liking it.” 

They smiled at each other for some moments. The gentle knocking of the rain in the window and the faint light of the sun gave the air a sense of peace. They stood in silence, enjoying the moment.

Until Yang talked again. “Aren’t you gonna ask about it?”

“About what?”

“I don’t know.” Said Yang, slightly biting her lip. “About Russet and Moche this morning, what happened down stairs, or the freaking metal arm in my bedside table?”

Blake took a deep breath. “Why haven’t you used it yet? The arm?”

“My dad asks me the same thing.” Yang put the tea down. “He doesn’t _say_ it, but I see he wants too. I just… it’s weird. It’s not a real arm, it won’t replace the one I lost. It’s a piece of _metal_ that won’t feel _anything_.”

Her eyes seemed dark, almost red, as Yang gripped the knot of her jacket at the end of her limb.

Carefully, Blake took a step closer. “You don’t have to, then. You… you should do it in your own terms, if you ever decide to put it on. You are still you.”

Yang let out a bitterly laughed.

“I’m _anything_ but me! Have you even see me?” She gestured to herself. “I lost weight, and muscle, I haven’t trained since Beacon, or left the house at all. I’m _weak_ , and lost, and alone, and if he came right now through the door—!”

She closed her mouth shut and hugged herself with a shaking arm. Blake quickly left her mug aside and rushed to Yang. She doubted for a moment before hugging her tightly. Blake could feel the shaking arm between them, so she took Yang’s hand, raising it to her chest.

“You are _not_ weak.” Blake said with confidence. “And you are not alone. You have your dad, and… and you have me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Yang broke the hug only enough so she could see Blake’s face, and smiled in a way Blake hadn’t seen since Beacon.

“And if anything happens.” Blake continued. “I’ll be here to protect you.”

Yang immediately froze. “What?”

 _Oh no._ Blake gulped. “What?”

Taking a step back, Yang grabbed the mug and put it back in the tray. She left the room, without looking back. 

Blake, still frozen in place, felt cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW ARE WE FEELING ABOUT VOLUME 8 HUH is anyone else scared as fuck or just me????
> 
> (thanks for reading! hope you liked it <3)


	5. Chapter 5

Yang heard her dad coming, recognized his steps. When he asked to come in, she let him.

Tai opened the door to her new room carefully. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“Really? Because Blake downstairs looks very distressed.”

The blonde girl laid back down. “I don’t care.”

“It sure seems like it.” Tai said as he sat at the end of Yang’s bed, and looked quickly through the window. 

It was getting darker, and the rain clouds seemed far away. He turned to see his daughter, lying on her side in the bed, looking at the wall.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

“I already told you, I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.” He sighed. “You know you can tell her to go, right?”

Yang vaulted up, looking at her father in shook. “You want me to kick her out?”

Her father laughed, shaking his head. 

“No, but do you?” He said. “If you are uncomfortable, you _can_ tell her to go. You are on your right.”

“… Do you think I should?”

“You know that’s not my thing to say.” He doubted before continuing. “But, it did surprised me when you told her to stay with us.”

“Why?”

Crickets began to sing outside, so loud that the TV downstairs seemed further away.

“You are not one to forgive quickly.” Tai finally said. “Which is fine, even if it is a pain when you’re mad because dinner was broccoli salad instead of pizza as I had promised.”

Yang couldn’t help but to smile softly at the memory, one so old that it felt to have happen in another life. She felt that the person she had been before Beacon was just someone else, and not her.

“But you also hold grudges like no one I have meet.” He talked carefully, picking every word he said, like he did every time he talked about Raven. “But now, you let this girl who clearly meant a lot to you, who disappeared without warning after a traumatic event and came back only months after, you _actually_ let her stay. You gave her clothes, food, and a bed. Most importantly, you heard what she had to say.”

Yang looked down at her hand, the only one she had, the one Blake had hold earlier with a care Yang hadn’t felt in _so long_. “I’ve gotten weak.”

“No, you are growing up. And clearly she means a lot to you.”

“You already said that.” Yang sighed, and leaned towards the wall. “It’s just… she came back, dad. She left everything else and _came back_. For _me_.”

“You still don’t owe her.”

“It’s not about that.” She said shaking her head slowly. “I had a lot of people leaving in my life. She is the first one who actually came back. And yeah, she did meant a lot to me.”

Tai lowered his sight too. Yang knew it wasn’t easy for him to talk about _that_ , or even hear about it. Raven was not someone who was mentioned a lot in their house, at least not out loud.

“And does she still?” He asked slowly, almost whispering.

“What do you mean?”

“Does she still mean a lot to you?”

“I—” Yang gulped. _She did. Blake still meant too much._ The only thing she could do was nod. 

“Okay, then.” He said. “I really hope things turn out fine between you two.”

The blonde girl smiled and looked at her father. “Why?”

“Because I can see that _you_ mean a lot to her too. And you know, I’m a dad, and just as you and Ruby, she went through hell. I hope all of you girls can find your way back to each other. Teams— _friends_ are important.”

Yang bit her lip, without really knowing what to say. Tai smiled at her fondly before getting up and heading to the door. 

“Dinner will be in fifteen, and I’m having some guests tonight.”

“Who?”

“You’ll see.”

When Yang went down for dinner, Blake was already setting the table. They exchanged quick, awkward looks.

Having Blake in her house was still strange, and more after the moment they had share a couple of hours ago. Being close to Blake, being able to hold her or to be held was something Yang had dreamt about for so long.

But she was still mad. The fact that Blake _still_ didn’t understood… But then, how could Yang blame her? She was a mess. She didn’t understood herself either.

Tai tried to start some small talk with Blake, asking her about her plans in Mistral, but Yang already knew about that. She started at her plate, playing with her fork until her food was cold.

She felt Blake and her father’s eyes on her. At that point, Yang was counting the seconds until one of them asked her to eat some more, but they didn’t. Once their dishes were empty, Yang got up with her unfinished plate and threw the food left on the trash. 

Blake, with her voice gentle, got closer. “Yang, do you—”

But Yang was already leaving the kitchen, heading up stairs. If she was being childish, she didn’t care.

She fell asleep for a short while. It wasn’t her intention (it was pretty early still, even if night had already fallen), but as soon as Yang had laid in her bed, mad with Blake, she had drift away.

She woke with her heart racing, her back and forehead covered with sweat. She couldn’t remember her dream, but she knew Adam was in it. She shook her head, trying to push that, whatever it was, out of her head. The anger she had fallen asleep with was gone, and even worst, she wanted to go and check on Blake. 

Yang sighed, and got up. In the night, the shine of the moon made the metal arm in her bedside table almost glow. She shouldn’t keep it there, it only made her feel worst.

A laugh came from down stairs, one that didn’t belong to her father o Blake. 

Yang got up from the bed, and slowly made her way to the kitchen, where the lights were on and the sound of a happy chat tried to fill the house.

“In all my years of teaching…!” Someone was saying, someone Yang _knew_. “… never did I see something like that! All day the class smelled like cider! And it wasn’t even second period!”

More laughs, and Yang couldn’t help but to smile too.

“And then!” The voice kept telling, “It comes Qrow, wearing a skirt! I was just a T.A, I didn’t know what to do! So I just left the room to laugh!”

Yang peeked from the door of the kitchen, and found her old Beacon professors, Port and Oobleck, sitting on her table. Tai was leaning in the kitchen counter, and on the opposite side of him…

“Yang.” Said Blake, making everyone stop laughing and turn around. 

Professor Port stood up. “Miss Xiao Long! Please, join us!” 

“Yes, yes, join us!” Professor Oobleck said, standing up too. “Is good to see you! When we came in and saw Miss Belladonna, for a moment we thought we had lost our minds!”

They laughed again, and Yang made her way next to her father.

“I’m just visiting.” Said Blake, looking directly at Yang.

Oobleck sat again, nodding. “That’s very good! In times like this, being close to one partner is very, very important! Many teams from Beacon are traveling too!”

Yang and Blake exchanged looks, and said nothing.

“What are you doing here?” Asked Yang instead, sitting on the counter.

“Despite popular belief, teachers _do_ have a life outside of classrooms.” Said Oobleck, taking a sip from his glass.

“Professor Goodwitch is working around the clock to restore Beacon to its former glory.” Said Port. “But Mistral wasn’t built in a day, and we all need some rest from time to time.”

Yang saw from the corner of her eyes how Blake took a deep breath.

“Let’s not worry about that right now!” Said Tai shaking his hands. “Where were we?”

“Professor Port left the class to laugh.” Helped Blake, and the teacher laughed.

“That’s right!” Said Port, getting back to the story. “I had to stand outside for almost ten minutes before I could go back in!”

“We were doing him a favor!” Tai said. “All the girls said he had really nice legs!”

Blake giggled. “Really?”

“Yes, yes!” Oobleck said. “Both Branwen twins were really strong!”

“That caught the attention of plenty of their classmates.” Said Port, giving Tai a knowing look. “Even their own teammates.”

Yang’s father, however, didn’t smile this time. He looked between Yang and Blake, frowning. 

“Come on, man, they are right here.” 

“They are mature young women! If they can handle combat, they can handle some anecdotes from their elders.”

“That’s not the issue, Pete. They are still teenagers.”

“ _They_ are also in the room and can be directly spoken to.” Said Yang, losing her patience. “And _I_ think we have been through enough to be consider adults at this point.”

Tai frowned, crossing his arms and looking directly at his daughter. “Adult or not, you still have a long way to go before you’re ready for the _real_ world.”

Yang was about to speak, when a voice beat her to it.

“Depends of what you consider the ‘real world’.” Said Blake, looking up almost defiantly. “Some people spend all their lives in a small town, taking care of themselves, and others, like us, are fighters. Can we say which reality is the real one? The one that matters?”

Everyone stared at her, in silent. Blake cleared her throat and drank from her glass with a small blush.

“It is good to see you kids are still sharp!” Said Oobleck. 

Port pointed at the top of his head. “And still surprising us.” 

Blake smiled nervously, her cat ears twitching.

But Tai still didn’t let it go. “You may be growing up, Yang, but you are still young.” 

“But I’m not a kid! I’m eighteen years old! And even if I wasn’t, I’ve already fought in the kind of battles your read about when you were my age!”

“So what? Because you know how to throw a punch you are suddenly a mature person?”

The houseguests exchanged awkward looks, trying to look at anything but Tai and Yang.

“You need more than physical strength to go to the real world, or whatever you want to call it!” Tai continued. “And if you still don’t understand that, then I guess you lost some brain cells along with that arm.”

Yang heard everyone gasp, shocked for what Tai had said, but without being able to help it, she began laughing.

“You jerk!”

Her father began laughing too, both well knowing that everyone was watching them, unsure of how to react.

“Are we finally addressing the goliath in the room?” Asked Oobleck with doubt, making father and his daughter laugh even strongly. This time, Blake and the teachers joined too.

For a moment, the place felt in peace, and Yang could almost imagine that if Beacon had never fallen, years after graduating she could invite her old professors to her house too to have dinner with her family, and it would feel exactly like that moment. Her eyes immediately went to Blake, and Yang smiled. She hadn’t seen Blake laugh like that in so, so long…

“If you don’t mind me asking,” began Port, “Miss Xiao— Yang, why haven’t you tried the arm yet?”

“Oh, yes, yes!” Said Oobleck. “A piece of Atlas technology being given out like that is rare indeed, not to mention the effort it took to deliver it here. It seems a great many people want to see return to normal.” 

Yang lowered her sight, knowing very well that Blake was watching her expectantly. “I… I don’t know. I get that people want me to go back to normal, but _this_ is normal now. I’m just having trouble getting used to it.” She finished quickly, eager to finish the topic.

“Well…” Said Tai. “Normal is what you make of it.”

Yang frowned, turning to him. “What do you mean? You want me to just forget about it? I lost a part of me. I piece of me is _gone_ , and it’s _never_ coming back.”

Her father sighed, thinking carefully. “You’re right. It’s not coming back. But that doesn’t have to stop you from becoming who you want to be.”

Tai lowered his head to look at his daughter in the eyes, even if she was nearly as tall has him.

“You are Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. Everything you ever put your mind into, you accomplished. You are not one to give up. So when you are ready to stop being mope and mad at everyone, and get back out there, you’ll see there are people here for you.” 

Across from her, Blake took a breath, almost as if she wanted to say something, but before she could, Port leaned in his seat.

“Fear is like any other emotion, it comes and it goes. It’s all in how you handle it. Even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time.”

Yang smiled. “Really?”

“He’s afraid of mice.” Whispered Oobleck, causing his friend to loudly explain himself.

Between laughs and more jokes, another hour passed, but Yang stayed quiet. Her thoughts kept going back to the metal arm in her room, and the girl in front of her. Blake had barely talked that night, but her presence, even feats away from Yang, burned her skin.

“We better get going.” Said Oobleck after a while. “Much to do tomorrow!”

They said goodbye, and Yang went up the stairs. Before that, she gave one last look at Blake, and hoped that she would understand the message: _We have to talk_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm not abandoning this fic! Life it's pretty crazy right now and I'm sleeping waay less than i should, but I'm enjoying writting this, so I hope you are enjoying it too!
> 
> This is one of my favorite scenes from volume 4, i couldn't NOT put it one way or the other, even tho i feel like i completely butchered it. Hope your are having a wonderful week, thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh, hi, i'm back  
> how's 2021 going?? can't wait for it to end  
> i've edited some of the previous chapters, nothing major tho! anyways, hope you enjoy!

Blake understood. She stared at Yang as she went up the stairs, and was ready to follow, when Professor Oobleck cleared his throat.

“Miss Belladonna— or you too rather be treated like an adult?” He asked, and even if his tone wasn’t firm, Blake felt like she was being scolded.

“Blake is fine.” She said.

So far, the night had been fun, and she had appreciated the three men welcoming her to talk. Before Yang had come, Oobleck and Port had talk about Beacon: the giant grimm was still there, attracting other grimms. The city and the school, they said, felt like an unstoppable pandemonium. 

“It’s was certainly a surprise to find you here.” Oobleck said, Port and Tai were talking outside the house. “Everyone was very worried when you disappeared.”

“I— I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize! Not to me at least.”

“I—”

Oobleck interrupted her. “You might remember long ago, I asked you why you were training to be a huntress. You said there was too much wrong in this world, and that someone had to do something.”

“You asked me how I would change things.” Blake nodded. “And I didn’t know.”

“Do you know now?”

“I… no. I don’t. But I know I can’t do it alone. And I don’t want to.”

Oobleck smiled. “You know, partners are not forever. I haven’t talk to anyone from my old team in years.”

“Why?”

“We just drifted away. It happens, and it is not a bad thing.”

Blake lowered her head, feeling a pain in her chest.

“What if I don’t want that to happen?”

“Then you don’t let it happen. Make it your choice, and not your burden.”

“I—” Blake smiled. “Thank you, professor Oobleck.”

He shook his head. “Call me Bartholomew. I do have a feeling that the next time we meet, we’ll find ourselves in an even more common ground than now.”

Oobleck bowed his head quickly and turned around, Blake waving goodbye.

She stood next to the stairs for some seconds before finally going up. Yang’s bedroom was dark, but the door was open.

Blake peeked inside, finding Yang standing next to the window. She had looked joyful before, when their old professors joked around, but now Yang was looking down, hugging herself.

“Are you okay?” Blake asked, almost whispering.

Yang looked up, as if she was surprised to see her. “No.”

She walked slowly to her bed and sat, patting the place next to her. Blake took a deep breath before closing the door and sitting by her side.

“It’s weird having you here.” Yang admitted. 

“I can go if—”

“But,” Yang interrupted her, “I don’t want you to go.”

The front door of the house closed, and they both heard how Tai passed by the bedroom and headed to his own. Yang turned her head slightly, enough for Blake to see the shine of the moon in her eyes. 

“Blake, you were my partner, my teammate, my best friend, my…” Yang stopped herself, and looked up, immediately finding deep golden eyes watching her. “You were everything to me. But then Beacon was attacked, and Adam came, and… you left. And I know you are sorry, and I’m beginning to understand why you did what you did. But it still hurts. And I felt so stupid.”

The last part came out almost bitterly, but Blake didn’t flinch.

“You are not stupid, Yang.” She said softly. “You are the smartest person I know.”

“But I trusted you. And you left. If I let myself be… I don’t know.” Yang sighed. “I’m afraid of letting you in again.”

“I— I understand that.” Blake said. She let her hand fall from her lap, and left it behind Yang, supporting herself to look into her eyes. “I can’t take back what I did, and I don’t expect you to forgive me. I did wrong, but I’ve learned from my mistakes, because Yang…”

Nothing came out. Yang looked at her, expectantly. They were very close to each other, their breaths almost mingling. 

“What?” Yang asked, so low and gentle that Blake barely heard her.

“You are everything to me too.” The words left her mouth easily, and she felt her head falling towards Yang’s, their foreheads resting against each other. “And I’m staying. I promise.”

Yang’s voice sounded almost like a pledge. “Really?”

“Yes. I want to. I _choose_ to. I… I’ll have your back, and I know you’ll have mine.”

None of them said anything for a second. With her eyes closed, being _so close_ to Yang, Blake felt her heart racing in her chest. Ever since Beacon…

She had tried denying it then. And after. But to Blake, Yang was really everything. She had been for a while, and it had only gotten stronger, even after months apart. 

“Do you remember, in Beacon…” Began Yang, almost as she had read her mind. “When we skipped classes and we went to the gardens.”

Blake smiled. “And it started raining. We had to stay in that old bandstand for hours.”

“It was raining so hard we couldn’t even see the school building.” Yang said, and her head trembled against Blake as she laughed.

That had been a good day, one of her favorites in Beacon. It wasn’t the first time her and Yang had… broken some rules, to say, but it had been the first day they had spent completely together. Ruby and Weiss had left for some project early, and after Yang and Blake decided to skip class and go hang out outside, the rain had trapped in an old bandstand far in the grounds of the school. They hadn’t seen anyone else but themselves that day, and they had liked it. Even if they had barely eaten anything, and had gotten back to their room completely soaked just before dinner, to have Weiss and Ruby mad at them for disappearing for a whole day, it still had been the best day Blake had memory of. 

In that bandstand, because of the cold of the rain, they had sit next to each other, almost hugging, and they had talked slowly, just as they did now.

Back then, for a second, Blake thought she could kiss Yang. 

“That was my favorite of our gateways.” Yang said with a soft smile.

“Are you sure? I remember you really enjoying blowing up that club.”

Yang giggled. “Well, despite of what you may think, _I_ ’ve come to enjoy the peaceful moments.”

Blake opened her eyes and very slightly separated from Yang, enough to look into her eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Yang let out a deep sigh. “I used to love action, you know? The thrill of not having a plan, just going where the flow takes me. But after… everything, I really just want a steady life. Uncertainty kinda terrifies me now.”

“You can have it.” Blake said, running her hand through Yang’s arm gently. “The steady life.”

“Not now.” With a sighed, Yang opened her eyes too. “I need to find Ruby.”

Slowly, they separated, and Blake immediately missed the warmth. Yang turned around to her side table, and stared at the prosthetic. 

“Can you help me?” She asked Blake. “To put it on.”

“Of course.”

They grabbed the arm and the box it came with. A rather thick book had come with, detailing how the arm had been made, and every part. That made Yang smile.

“I don’t know who build this, but I like them.” She said.

They stayed up for hours, reading the manual, figuring it out, until Yang was ready to attach it.

“It says it might hurt a little the first time.” Blake read, and Yang nodded, holding the prosthetic close to the end of her limb.

She had taken off her jacket, and now Blake could see the scars of stretch skin around the metal part of her limb. Knowing that _Adam_ had hurt her like that made blood burn. Yang never deserved any of that.

“Are you ready?” Blake asked, ready for any answer.

Yang didn’t say anything. She gulped, and placed the arm, twisting it tight in place. Her face wrinkled with pain, Blake’s heart jumping just by seeing her.

“Fuck.” Whispered Yang, trembling. “That… that hurt.”

“Does it still?”

“No, no… it was just a second.” 

Blake waited, watching the arm expectantly. “Can you move it?”

“I don’t—” 

But before she could finished, the metal palm bended dramatically, disturbing both girls.

Yang chuckled. “Guess it moves.”

Blake could see the nervousness in her and how her other hand was slightly shaking. 

“Careful.” Yang said, getting up and putting space between them. “I don’t know how to control this thing, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Don’t worry about that now.” Blake said, standing up too. “Try to do something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know… grab a book?”

And Yang did. First she slammed the metal palm against the book, then almost ripped a few pages off, but after a few minutes she had understood how it worked, the power it had.

They ended up throwing an old ball of Zwei they had found, first calmly, but their playful side inevitably emerged, and passing the ball turned to pacing the ball but _cool_ , until the point of them going to the backyard playing catch.

The first rays of sun announced the coming of the morning, but having been awake the whole night did nothing to stop them.

Blake was running, escaping from Yang and throwing her the small ball. The game they had improvised was quite simple; Yang had to catch the ball _and_ Blake to win. Catching the ball was the easy part.

“It’s… not… fair!” Cried Yang, trying to catch her breath. “Your semblance… not fair!”

“Oh, I think it’s very fair.” Blake said, smiling teasingly. “Besides, no one said _you_ couldn’t use yours.”

It was a tricky thing to say. Even without knowing, Blake was sure Yang hadn’t use her semblance in a long time.

But the blonde girl took it as a challenge, Blake could see it on her eyes.

Again, Blake threw the ball to the air, and Yang, even when being out of shape, ran fast towards it, jumping and catching it with her prosthetic. When she turned to Blake, a shadow had replaced her. 

“Over here!” Said Blake with a smirk, feats behind her. 

Yang ran towards her, but of course, before she could get really close, Blake was gone again. 

She appeared next to a couple of trees, with a cocky smile in her face. Once again, Yang ran towards her, but before Blake felt it was necessary to use her semblance, in just a second Yang was already on top of her, her eyes red and her hair golden like flames.

They fell in the cold and wet grass, both without breath.

“Got-cha!” Said Yang breathing heavily. “Gosh, I need to get back on shape.”

Under her, Blake gulped, trying not to blush. “I— you still look good.”

Yang stared. Their faces only inches away, and the rest of their bodies pressed against each other, old and yet strong feelings reminded them again, they hadn’t left Beacon being _just_ best friends.

“The arm is looking fine.” Said Blake, almost out of breath.

“Yeah.” Yang nodded. “The arm is great.”

“Really great.”

They nodded for some moments, and then quickly got up. 

They clothes were stained from the grass, and birds had already began to sing around them. 

“I can’t believe we stayed up all night.” Blake said, looking at the clear sky of the morning.

Without thinking, Yang said: “Now it really is like old times.”

Immediately, she shut herself, looking at Blake expectantly. Were the old days something to miss? Blake smiled.

“Yeah, but is better now.”

Yang let out the breath she was holding. “How so?”

“I don’t know. It just is.”

Maybe it was because they had pull an all nighter and they were tired, or because they had talk too much about their feelings, or both. But slowly, Blake took a step forward, and wrapped her arms around Yang’s neck.

Without doubt, Yang hugged her firmly around the waist, pulling her closer. 

It was the third time they hug, even in Beacon they hadn’t done that too much, and Yang couldn’t understand why not. Hugging Blake was amazing. She was gentle but firm, and warm, and Yang would stay in her arms for ever if she could.

She was definitely too tired. The parts of her brain that told her to keep it together were asleep, and Yang didn’t know what she could do.

“I missed you.” Whispered Blake, still holding tight to Yang. Her voice deeo because from sleepiness. 

“I missed you too.” Yang answered. “More than I wanted to.”

It took Blake a moment to say anything else. “You didn’t want to miss me?”

Yang hugged her even tighter, but only putting force with her real arm. The prosthetic hanged at her side, the metal hand barely touching Blake’s leg.

“I thought it would only hurt me more.”

Blake nuzzled her neck, leaving a small kiss in the bottom of it, just next to the collar of Yang’s shirt. The action made a shiver ran through Yang’s back, her cheeks flustering slightly.

“I know I have already apologize.” Said Blake looking into her eyes, close enough that Yang could see the golden tones in her iris. “I’ll never stop regretting leaving.”

“You have too. You accomplished a lot in Menagerie.”

Blake smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “You did too, here.”

“Yeah, sure.” Said Yang chuckling. 

“You did! Look at you.”

Yang looked at herself quickly, and arched an eyebrow. She hated how she look.

“I literally never looked worse.”

But Blake shook her head, and maybe it was because she was also very tired, and dozy enough to not think that much of her actions, but she reached to Yang’s metal hand and raised it to her lips, kissing it tenderly.

Yang, of course, couldn’t feel it, but a warm feeling took over her, almost making her legs tremble. 

“You look beautiful.” Blake whispered letting her own blushed cheeks lay against the metal palm. 

Yang thought she could kiss Blake in that moment. She really thought she could, because she wanted to. She had for a long time.

But she didn’t. Blake had been away for too long, and maybe before Yang would had risk it and do it, but now, after everything, she was afraid. She couldn’t mess it up.

With her eyes close, Blake let out a deep breath, still resting her face in Yang’s metal hand, making it feel almost her own. Yang raised her real hand to Blake’s other cheek, and the no-kissing thing got even more difficult.

However, Blake smiled. Her arms hugged Yang’s waist, pulling them closer. The faint rain got stronger, now damping their hairs, and they laughed.

“We should…” Began Yang with a smile.

“Yeah, we should get inside.”

A lighting lit up the sky, and both girls laugh. Still close and holding hands, they walked back inside and up the stairs. Yang took off the prosthetic arm, and it barely hurt.

“Well, goodnight.” Said Blake. She stared at Yang with a warm smile for a moment before taking a step towards the door, but Yang stretched out her arm to hold Blake’s hand.

She didn’t have to say anything. They took off their shoes, and without even changing to their pajamas, they laid in the bed and covered themselves with the blanket.

They fell sleep almost instantly, their hands still holding. When Tai woke up hours later and found them hugging in their sleep, he smiled. He was sure they would be okay.

But still, there was a long way ahead.


	7. Chapter 7

It was well past lunch when they woke up, tangled against each other.

The moment Blake realized where she was, she froze. Oh _Gods_ , she had literally cuddle with Yang all night, after telling her she was beautiful and kissing her hands. What was she thinking?

She had already screw up so much, she couldn’t ruin that second chance letting her heart do what it wanted. Although, Yang hadn’t pushed her away. On the contrary, she had an arm over Blake and her head pressed against her neck. Her slow and steady breaths against her skin made Blake shiver.

What should she do? Move? Wake her up? Maybe all that snuggling had been a mistake during the night, and when Yang woke up she would be uncomfortable. Blake tried to think; she could use her semblance to get off the bed without moving Yang…

Before she could decide on anything, Yang took a deep breath and groaned, slowly awakening. 

And then, she froze. Blake felt her heart going faster and she hold her breath, expecting the worst. 

But Yang raised her head, and smiled. “Good morning.”

“H-hi.” Said Blake, completely stunned. 

“Sorry I slept all over you.” Yang said as the turned on her side to stretch.

Blake was going to have a heart attack. “Uhm, it’s, uh… it’s okay.”

Their hair was all over the place. They both had it very long, and when Yang stretched, she accidentally pulled from a lock of her friend’s hair, and when trying to sit up Blake stepped on Yang’s. 

They said ‘sorry’ and ‘sorry’ as they tried to get up, things getting more awkward as they realized just how much against each other they had slept, entangling themselves even more. 

“I am- umh!” Yang fell face down to the pillow when Blake accidentally sat on her arm.

“Shit! Sorry!”

Blake tried to jump back, but her feet were still in the covers, making her fall to the floor.

There was silence in the room. The sun's rays came through the window, giving the incredibly awkward situation a warm tone. Just like that, Yang began laughing.

Blake groaned, kicking her way out of the blankets, finally freeing her legs. “Something funny?”

“A couple of things, yeah.” Laughed Yang, watching her from the bed. “You don’t normally swear.”

“Well, I don’t normally find myself waking up like that.”

Blake meant it as an ironic comment, but Yang’s smile faltered.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t meant to make you uncomfor—” 

“You didn’t!” Blake said sitting up quickly. “You really didn’t, it just, uhm, caught me by surprised.”

Yang started at her, barely blinking, and opened her mouth. But before saying anything, she closed it again.

“What if we go have breakfast?” She asked after a while.

Blake smiled. “I think it is a little late for breakfast.”

And they moved on. They went to have breakfast, but Tai laughed at them and said he had already made lunch. After that, Yang went to have a bath, and when she came down wearing her prosthetic arm, her father smiled.

“Okay.” He said, and opened the door to the back of the house.

Training began slowly. Yang had been out of shape for so long, that even running tired her.

At first, Blake just watched in the back, giving words of encouragement when needed and having always a glass of fresh water ready for her partner. She knew Tai was a teacher, but seeing after so long a huntsman teaching and training gave her an incredible melancholia. She thought about Beacon often, even more now that she was with Yang again. But the _learning_ aspect of Beacon was one that she had forgotten how much she had missed.

“Feet separated, pointing to—”

“Ugh, I know dad. I lost my arm, not my memory.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you lost both, or are your feet tape together?”

Also, father and daughter had a fun dynamic, Blake had come to understand. Their usual banter could sometimes come off like mean, but in time Blake had realize the two just had their own way of understanding each other.

When the weekend ended and Tai had to go back to spending most of the day in Signal, Blake would help Yang, even if her methods were much more nicer.

Quickly, Yang got back on her feet. She gain the weight she had lost and went back to a normal sleeping schedule. She looked healthier, less pale and brighter. 

“Be careful, Yang!” Said Blake as she came outside holding two glasses of water. She had left Yang running in circles, but now her partner was doing push-ups with only her prosthetic hand.

Yang stopped and sat up. “I’m fine! I’m great, really!”

In two weeks she had managed to get her physical strength back, not running out of breath as quickly and regaining her stamina. 

Sparring is where things got tricky. Not for Yang, but for Blake. Sparring with Yang had always… _flustered_ her.

“Hey!” Yelled Yang as Blake left a shadow of herself, getting off her way. She was going too fast to stop, so jumped against a tree, giving herself enough impulse to flip in the air and land on her legs. Blake gulped as she watched form the distance.

“Just wanted to test you.”

“Yeah, well, you can test that when we are training our semblances!” Said Yang with a smirk, wiping the sweat of her forehead. “Or maybe this is because you are not… how to say, that _outstanding_ in your hand to hand combat?”

Blake scoffed. “Excuse me?”

“I said what a said.” Yang pulled her arms behind her head, tilting her hips in a way that was cute and also, well, attractive. 

_Blake needed to control her thoughts_. 

“Unless, of course,” Yang continued, “you want to prove me wrong?”

Even if Blake had tried not to smile, she would have failed. Her lips curled at challenge. That was one of the things she had missed the most about Yang: the playfulness.

Blake walked towards her partner and got in position, making Yang’s smirk widen even more. 

“Ready?” Yang asked, and in response, Blake threw a punch. 

Yang, of course, avoided them easily, and jumped to Blake’s right side. They went back and ford doing that; throwing punches and avoiding them, jumping and throwing kicks.

Everything inside Blake told her to use her semblance, but she knew that would be breaking the rules. Even if she was fairly good in hand to hand combat, Yang was completely superior, even after spending months in bed.

It was impressive, actually, how much stronger Yang had gotten in such a short time. Her muscles, also, had popped out. 

Looking at her opponent’s arms was not a good tactic, and before Blake knew it, Yang had tackled her, making the dark-haired girl fall onto her back and groan in pain.

“Oh, shit.” Said Yang with worry and getting closer. “Are you okay?”

She had forgotten Blake was a great actress. She tangled her legs with Yang's, causing her to lose her balance and fall. Quickly, Blake got up, just in time to catch Yang’s arms as she tried to sit up.

Blake pinned her by the wrist against the ground, and smiled. “Yes, I’m great.”

Yang stared at her, out of breath and flustered. 

“I-I can see.” She smiled. “You tricked me. As you did in Beacon.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Yeah, sure you don’t.”

They were still on the ground, Blake pinning Yang against the grass, too close to each other.

Both their faces went red, and quickly got up. 

“Uhm, that wasn’t bad.” Said Yang with nervousness, shaking the grass off her.

Blake smiled. “You are doing amazing.”

“Thanks. I… I feel good.” Yang said with a grin. “Better than I have in a long, long time.”

“I am very glad to hear that.”

Zwei barked at them, breaking the moment, walking in circles around towels and a bottle of water. Yang laughed as she walked towards him to pet him and grab the towels. She threw one to Blake and began eagerly drinking from the bottle, not bothering if some of the water fell to her chest. 

She was doing on purpose, Blake was sure. She tried not to stare, but when Yang handed her the bottle, she smirked at her.

“You are looking kinda flustered there, Blake.” Teased Yang raising an eyebrow. “Feeling hot?”

“You wish.” Replied Blake, which didn’t make a lot of sense, but in her defense, she had become unaccustomed to the flirty teasing. Back in Beacon, their training sessions were, according to Weiss, an “insufferable coquetry battle”. And oh, if there was something they loved more than play-flirting with each other, was to annoy Weiss.

That was actually a stretch. They _adored_ play-flirting with each other. Even if, maybe, it hadn’t been the best for Blake, as her flirtation had become a little more real over time. 

“Do you want to keep going?” Asked Yang, shoving the towel around her neck.

“I think I rather take a shower now, but you can keep going. Just don’t push yourself too much.”

Yang tilted her head and smiled, getting closer to her partner. “Don’t worry, I think I’m done for the day too. What do you think about some tea before dinner? I can have it ready for when you get out of the shower.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

They shared one last smile before gathering their things and getting back inside the house, Blake getting up the stairs and Yang heading to the kitchen.

Things between them were… better. Much better. It wasn’t as it had been in Beacon, but Blake knew they would never go back to that. 

She took a quick shower, not longer than ten minutes, but stayed in the bathroom for a little while staring at herself in the mirror. She hadn’t always been one to look at herself much. Back in the White Fang, she didn’t usually found any good mirrors as they camped for days outside mines, and once in Beacon hiding her faunus traits wasn’t something Blake felt proud off, and looking at her reflection was just a reminder of that.

Even if both those days were long go, looking at herself was still strange. Her hair was very long, longer than she ever had it. Her bangs needed a snip too. The wide mirror on the bathroom reminded her of the one she had in her house in Menagerie, that let her see her entire body from her feet to the top of her head.

She had gotten stronger, and a little taller, and her skin was darker than usual, as it used to be when she lived with her parents. Another thing she realized, was that she was smiling. 

Seeing herself smile in front of a mirror; that was the rarest of all. She was happy nonetheless.

Her biggest anxieties were going away. Her relationship with her parents was stronger than never, she had reconnected with Ilia, and the three of them were heading with tens of faunus to help Mistral. In the meantime, Blake was mending her wrongs with Yang. 

It had also been days since she had any nightmares about Adam; that was the cherry of the cake. For the first time in a while, Blake was looking into the future with a little hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know how to write action scenes, sue me.  
> Despite those terrible sparring descriptions, i hope you enjoyed! There are still a couple of chapters left to this, so get ready!


	8. Chapter 8

Yang had a lot of books, and Blake was having a blast. It had been so long since she had actually sat down to read, and even if she wasn’t on vacations, reading while resting after spending the entire afternoon training with Yang wasn’t bad.

Blake heard her partner and her father still training outside. They had both told her to relax a bit before dinner, and even if Blake had been reluctant at first, she needed it. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken a small break.

Yang’s taste in book was much sweeter and romantic than hers, which was a surprise. Everytime they had talked about books in Beacon (which had been a fair amount of times), they focused in the ones they had both read, most being action and adventure stories. 

But the collection Yang had in her old room was mostly romances, and Blake was both surprised and pleased. She hadn’t been one to read romances, Adam told her they were fake and useless. 

Well, the hell with Adam. Blake was having a blast reading some of the short romance stories Yang had, realizing a couple of the books were actually about romances between women. 

That fact, well, had made Blake blush a little bit.

Outside, she heard the fighting had stopped. Blake peaked from the window, seeing that Yang was laying on the ground as Tai talked to her, both looked serious, almost tense, but Blake turned around and continued with the reading. If Yang wanted to talk to her about it, she would.

… She _would_ , wouldn’t she? Things were good between them now, but Blake kept waiting for something to ruin everything. For _her_ to ruin everything.

She tried to not think like that, and focus on the reading. Things were _okay_ , Yang and her were doing fine, and as days passed it would get even better. There was no more bitterness in her partner’s voice, or carefully thought words. Things were better, but if Blake kept expecting herself to screw up, she would inevitable do so.

She focused on what she was reading. It was a simple story of a young huntress who fell in love with a woman from the town she was protecting. It was clear that the writer wasn’t a huntress as many of the facts were not correct, but the story was sweet and the characters lovable. 

It was the kind of story that would have bored the old Blake, being too plain and predictable, but now, after so many challenging things happening and many more to come, _simple_ sounded good for her. 

And Yang had told her the same. She wanted a _steady life_ , to know what to expect.

They had both changed since their time in Beacon. Blake put the book down and looked up, thinking too much to actually read. 

They _had_ change. Probably everyone had. Blake thought of Ruby, on her way to somewhere, and Weiss, probably in the top of her mansion in Atlas. When they met again (because Blake was sure they would), how would they be? Would they be strangers to each other?

Fighting otside began again, and Blake couldn’t help but to smile at the sight of her partner. She was doing better, both in and out, and Blake was proud. Yang was getting up on her feet like she had never been.

And with that came the fact, that soon Blake would have to leave. 

She had promised her parents she would come back in over a month, and that time was coming to an end. Still, Blake wasn’t sure she wanted to leave in the first place. She was happy being back to her partner, getting her team back. That’s what she really desired.

Of course she wanted to join her family and her people against the White Fang, but was she really needed? She couldn’t make up her mind. 

And she was afraid that Yang would think that if Blake left, it was because she didn’t care enough.

Laughs entered the house with the sound of a closing door. Yang and Tai were talking loudly, the girl’s voice getting closer.

“Maybe it’s because you’re too old!” Yang said going up the stairs.

From down stairs, Blake heard Tai complaining between laughs, but didn’t say anything.

She heard Yang’s steps getting closer and closer to Blake’s room, until she knocked.

“Hey!” She said. “It’s me, can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Blake watched as Yang opened the door, a wet towel around her neck and sweety all over. The dark-haired girl gulped, sitting straight.

“Oh, what are you reading?” Yang asked with a smile, sitting in the bed next to Blake.

“Some short stories I found in your bookcase, is that okay?” 

“Yeah, of course it is. You can read whatever you like” She looked at the cover and laughed. “Oh gosh, I use to love this compilation!”

“Used to?”

“It’s been a while since I read anything.” She said. “For pleasure, you know. I-I know how to read.”

Blake giggled behind her hand. “I know you can.”

They smiled, both nervous but comfortable. It was a weird mix of emotions, but Blake couldn’t explain it otherwise. Yang made her feel in ways she just wasn’t able to explain.

“So, how was training?” She asked instead, closing the book and putting just a little distance between them.

Yang didn’t seemed to noticed, but her smile fell a little. “It was fine. Dad is just… too much of a teacher sometimes.”

“Is that bad?”

“No, no, just…” She breathed out, leaning on the headboard. “We had a talk, and he… he talk about Raven.”

Blake felt the tension. “Oh.”

Yang’s lips curled, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Blake turned around and looked at her partner, silently waiting.

“I just… I don’t know.” Yang said. “I always wanted him to talk to me about her, and about Summer, and everything that happened, but now it feels…”

“Like too much?” Blake tried to help.

“Maybe.” Yang’s eyes wandered through the room, not really focusing on anything. She took at deep breath before talking. “What about you?”

“Me? What about me?”

Their eyes met, almost shyly. “The month is coming to an end. You’ll have to leave, right?”

Blake hold her breath and looked away, grasping the ends of her shirt. 

“I… I guess I have.” _Don’t ask her if she wants you to leave, don’t ask her—_ “D-do you want me to? To leave?”

The expression in Yang’s face was hard to read, both sad and cross, but she just sighed. “You should do what you think you have to do.”

_That’s not really answering the question_ , Blake thought, but she didn’t pushed.

“I’m not sure of what to do yet.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. I want to go with my family, to fight with my people, but…”

Yang was bitting her lip with nervousness, making Blake more anxius. “But?”

“I also want to stay here. With you.”

For a few moments they stared at each other’s eyes, but then quickly looked else where, anywhere else.

“I want to go too.” 

Yang’s words almost made Blake choke with her own breath. She looked up to her partner, almost in shock.

“W-where?” She asked, her voice too high.

“I’m not sure.” Said Yang playing with the lace of her cargo pants. “I need to make things right with Ruby, but also… I think I want to find Raven.”

“Raven?” Blake repeated. “Do you know where she is?”

“Not more than before, probably somewhere in Mistral doing whatever bandits do.” She says. “She goes from place to place constantly, but Ruby will be as difficult to find. She _was_ heading to Mistral too, but where she actually is…”

She sighed wearily, closing her eyes and resting her head against the wall. She looked tired, not only from the day of training, but just exhausted. Blake understood that.

“Hey, don’t think about it now. What if you take a nice shower, eat dinner, and tomorrow morning we can talk about it more? You need to rest.”

Still with her eyes closed, Yang smiled. “You’re worried about me?”

Blake didn’t answered. Yang opened her eyes and looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“I… am a little worried.” Blake admitted. “I want you to be okay.”

“You think I won’t?” This time her tone was firmer. “I can handle myself.”

“I know you can!” Blake said quickly. “I just worry because I care for you. We… we are partners.”

But Yang didn’t answered right away. “Yeah.”

She stood up and stretch, the towel almost falling from her neck as her back curved. Blake tried to to stare.

“I’m gonna do as you said and take a long shower.” Yang said now with a smile, as if nothing had happened. “See you in dinner.”

Like that, she left the room, closing the door behind her. Blake stayed still, looking at the place Yang had been. 

Things were better between them, and they would get better everyday. She kept telling herself that.

“So.” Taiyang said dropping his cutlery. Dinner had been pretty silent, everyone too tired from the long day. “I’m going to need you girls to do some shopping tomorrow. I don’t know what time I’ll be back.”

Blake and Yang shared a quick look. 

“Are things that hard in Signal?” Yang asked.

“It’s not just about the Academy. Patch has a lot of people now, some things are getting a little out of hand, to say the least.”

“Anything we can help with?” Blake asked, and noticed Yang staring at her. The dark-haired girl gulped, but kept her sight in Tai. 

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, nothing us grown ups can’t handle.”

His daughter rolled her eyes dramatically, dropping her head to her side, making Blake giggle behind her hand. Tai looked at them raising an eyebrow, with a very small smile in his face.

“You know what? This is not fair.” He said grabing his drink. “Having two teenagers against me leaves me at a disadvantage.”

Yang smirked. “Do I need to remind you that you have two teenage daughters?”

“Maybe, but you weren’t trying to impress Ruby.”

Blake raised her head and stayed very still, while Yang, on the other side of the table, choked with her food.

“W-what? Dad! I—! I’m not…!” She stuttered. “You are the one who’s— you are—!” 

“Take your time.” Tai said with a grin, and winked at Blake. 

“Dad!”

But Blake couldn’t help but to smile too, even if Yang’s face was burning red and her father was crearly just getting on his daughter’s nerves, for Blake that was one of the happiest moments in the Xiao Long-Rose home.

When morning came, Blake realized it was raining again. The sun was up and bright, but it still rained softly, the raindrops hitting the window.

Blake stretched in the bed, humming with content. It was a pleasant morning, and she was comfortable under the covers. They had started to feel as her own, just like the rest of the house. 

Her smile faded with that thought. Even if it felt like home, she was going to lose it soon. She would have to leave, and that new place she had put her heart on would be gone, like her family home in Menagerie, the White Fang campsites, and Beacon’s dorms. 

But it was part of a huntress job, wasn’t it? Moving constantly. Blake hoped that at least, she wouldn’t keep travelling alone.

She got up and changed comfortably, knowing her and Yang had to go downtown. Tai had already left for Signal, Blake had heard him leaving just as the sun came out. It was still early, and she could hear Zwei running around in the hallway, waiting for one of them to finally get up.

Taking a deep breath, Blake opened the door of her room, but raised her hand. 

“Don’t jump on me, please.” She said watching Zwei.

The dog barked happily at her but stayed in his place, wagging his tale. Blake took a step towards slowly, and he jumped with excitement. _Gods, Blake, you slay grimm on your sleep, can’t you handle a small dog?_

Zwei jumped again, making every hair in Blake’s body to stand up. “I said don’t jump on me!”

The door of Yang’s room opened fast, startling both Blake and the dog. Yang, still with eye boogers in her eyes and in her pijamas, looked between the two.

“So… good morning?” She said running her hand through her hair, which looked too good for having Yang just woken up. She didn’t had her prostethic on yet either, and over all the picture made Blake blush.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“It’s okay, I had to get up anyways.” She said raising her arm and stretching it . “I just had kind of a long night. A couple of weird dreams.”

Blake straighten herself, trying not to show herself too worried. “Nightmares?”

“Actually, no.” Yang said breathing out, and smiling. “Had a couple of good dreams. Weird, but good. It’s a first.”

She laughed and grabbed Zwei, immediately having him licking her face with exictment.

“I’m glad.” Blake said, with a small smile in her face.

“I’m gonna change and take this guy out, do you mind starting the tea?”

“Of course not.” Blake said, suddenly felling somewhat nervous. “I’ll try not to burn it.”

It wasn’t really funny, but Yang smiled before closing the door. 

While Blake made a small breakfast Yang got changed and took Zwei outside. Even with the faint rain, Blake saw her partner standing under the storm, getting her head and the top of her shoulders wet.

It was early —not even ten in the morning— and neither of them really felt like talking. They sat in the porch with their cups of tea and drank while watching the faint rainfall, quietly enjoying each other’s presences.

Zwei run around in the yard for while, until coming to rest next to their legs. It was a quiet morning, but for the first time, the feeling was new. 

The last month had been a daily reminder of what she had lost in Beacon. Ruby and Yang were, of course, all over the house, and the memories of the _old days_ just filled her with melancholia. Having Zwei running around, the smell of Yang’s things and posters of Ruby’s favorite games, that also made her miss Weiss, who would complain about the mess.

But that moment with Yang in her porch had nothing of Beacon. The rooms were never that quiet in the morning, and rain had never been so tender. Her and Yang had also never ran away to have some quiet breakfast. 

The feeling of a new memory that wasn’t tied to the past made Blake feel the most genuine happiness.

“What’cha smiling about?” Asked Yang, elbowing her without force.

Blake hadn’t realize she was smiling at all, and shook her head. “Nothing important.”

“You were _really_ smiling, though.” She said. “Like, big, sweet, happy smile.”

_Sweet?_ “I… I was just thinking that I feel good. I feel safe right now.”

Yang stared at her, but Blake kept her eyes in her cup, too nervous to look up. That silly nervousness that just kept happening more often, and that she couldn’t let it happen.

“I’m very happy to hear that.” Yang said in a soft voice, and doubt for a moment before speaking again. “No matter what happens, I want you to know that this will always be a safe place for you.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She gulped, almost as if she was nervous too. “Pinky promise.”

Without being able to stop herself, Blake giggled in a way she usually didn’t. Too sweet and high and _lovesick_ , but Yang didn’t seemed to notice; her smile only grew bigger.

They awkwardly hold each other’s pinkys, maneuvering with their teacups while sitting umcorfotably on the bench. In their faces, however, there were big smiles. 

Blake finished her tea quickler after that, trying to hide her blush, or at least if Yang noticed it blame it on the hot beverage. 

“Hey.” Yang said after a few minutes in silence. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about yesterday.” 

Blake turned her head to her partner and waited for her to keep talking. The rain had stopped, but the sky still had grey clouds.

“I think I can do both.” Continued Yang. “Seeing Raven and finidng Ruby, I mean. Qrow told me Raven’s semblance allows her to make portals to other people she has a conection with, and I know Qrow is travelling with Ruby, so…”

“If you find Raven, she can lead you to Ruby.” Blake finished. Yang nodded slowly, bitting her lip. “Are you sure you are ready for that?”

“I have to be.”

“You don’t _have_ to. Don’t push yourself for something you are not ready.” Blake breathed out. “She had you waiting for a long time, but that doesn’t mean you have to be ready. You are allow to not be.”

“I know you are right, but I don’t think I’ll ever be truly ready. Besides…” This time was Yang the one who avoided her eyes. “I have something to, uhm, offer you.”

“Yeah?”

Leaving the teacup by her side, Yang close her fists over her lap. “Well, uhm, Ruby was heading to Mistral, where you are headed. And of course there’s not assurance she actually made it there, I mean she could be in Atlas for all that we know, but if maybe she _did_ got there, then, if Raven gets us to her…”

Blake freezed, heat forming her her face immediately.

“Are you asking me to come with you?” She asked almost out of breathe.

“No, well yes, but I know you have urgent things to do! You don’t need to be stuck on my family drama, and you could end up anywhere, and you really don’t have too…”

Blake tried to think objectively, but her mind just couldn’t belive that Yang was _asking_ her to come with her to face Raven. _Yang_ was asking _Blake_ , and she just couldn’t feel more honored.

But she had to think. Even if she left on her own, there was no telling she would get back to Mistral on time. The road was long and the dangers many, but maybe Raven was her best chance to get there in time. Besides, Raven was supposedly near Mistral anyways, if Yang’s search went nowhere, Blake could just continue her way to the city and then rejoin her.

“Don’t feel like you have to say yes or anything, really, I-I really don’t want to push you or take you from your way.” Yang kept saying, growing more nervous with every word. “I want you to…”

“Yang, it’s okay.” Blake said, small smile forming on her face. “I’ll go with you.”

But Yang’s expression didn’t change. “But you shouldn’t, you should go back…”

“Don’t worry about what I should or shouldn’t do. I want to go with you. And if we don’t find Raven, I’ll continue my way to Mistral and then join you again.”

“But…” Yang breathed out as if she was exhausted. “Why?”

“Didn’t I told you already? I want to be by your side.”

The words came out of her mouth before she actually thought about them. The faces of both girls blushed deeply, and they stared at eachother in the most comfortable awkwardness.

“Well.” Yang said quietly. “That’s good news then, I also would like you by my side.”

It could be frezzing cold or worst summer day and Blake wouldn’t had noticed. Her entire being could just see and feel Yang. Their knees brushing, their heads close, only the two of them far from the rest of the world.

Blake could kiss her. If she wasn’t afraid, she could really kiss Yang. She wanted to. But Yang?

Yang’s eyes left Blake’s, very fast, and moved to her lips. The quick eye movement made Blake’s heart beat even faster. Yang didn’t wanted it too, right?

She coulnd’t. It wasn’t possible after everything that had happened.

“Then we are on the same page.” Blake said, trying to make her voice steady as she draw away, enough to end the moment.

Yang’s smile grew again. “Guess we are.”

What was left of their teas had gotten cold, so they went back inside and left the cups on the sink. Tai had left them a list with different things they needed to buy, and because it wasn’t reaning anymore, they prepared to head downtown.

The grocery shopping didn’t took them too long. Yang knew were to get what they needed, so after coming and going from store to store a few times, they were ready.

They didn’t only bought what Tai had told them, however. Without even deciding it, they took a couple of canned food and a new first aid box. Blake bought dust for weapon, and Yang oils for her bike.

“I’ve missed that big machine.” Blake commented with a smile.

Yang smirked. “Really? I remember you weren’t a big fan of my sweet Bumblebee back in Beacon.”

“That was only the first months!” Blake laughed. “And it was mostly because I wasn’t sure what kind of driver you were.”

“Oh really? And what kind of driver am I?”

“A fast one.”

Yang tilted her head with curiosity. “Too fast for you?”

“No.” Said Blake. “I happen to like fast.”

The streets were full of people coming from all places. Having so many bags with them, Blake and Yang tried to not bump into anyone, but ended bumping against each other. The sun was coming out again, and even if the wam days were close to coming to an end, that afternoon it was hot.

Tired form walking and the weight of their bags, both partners were sweating and flushing. The sun was high in the sky above their heads and they still had a long walk to Yang’s house.

But they kept walking. Not very fast, as they had no hurry and no one was after them. It was probably one of the last times they would had that freedom.

They passed The Huntsman’s Lounge without turning their heads. Neither Russet, Moche or their mother was around, and Blake thought that would be for the best. But still, in the streets some people turned their heads.

Yang walked with decision, without seeing to care for the looks she was getting, and Blake walked closer to her, making their arms touch.

Back in Beacon, Yang wasn’t one to talk much about her time in Signal. Ruby, sometimes, would talk about her friends and her adventures in her old school, but her sister barely ever mention it. But Blake could imagine.

Daughters of two huntsmen from a small island, one tragically dead and the other teacher in one of the biggest primary combat schools. Both girls talented and eye catching, had been one of the few to get to Beacon.

People _knew_ who Yang Xiao Long was, and they turned their heads as they saw her for the first time in so long. 

“Look!” Someone whispered behind them. “It’s Xiao Long’s kid!”

Blake turned around and glared at some boys younger than her, who immediately turned pink and looked elsewhere.

But in between the full streets and the Vale refugees, people who had lived in Patch their whole lives stared. Yang was someone there. But at the same time, that town was special for her too, Blake saw it in the way her partner carried herself in the street. It wasn’t fair for her to feel anything else but welcomed there. 

“Hey.” Blake said carefully. 

Yang turned her head to see her. “Yeah?” 

“Don’t you want to go anywhere?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well.” Blake slowed her pace. “We’ll probably be away for a while, don’t you want to enjoy the town, maybe? Go somewhere you like?”

Yang stopped walking and stood still, thinking. “There are some places I would like to go, but not now, we are both tired. I’ll make a nice lunch when we get home, and then maybe. What do you think?”

“Of course, if you are sure.”

Yang smirked and continued walking, Blake following close behind. 

“I'm sure!” Yang said. “Besides, we have a pretty trip to get ready for, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to post this chapter two weeks ago, but after somehow deleting it permanently, i began rewritting it and things took a very different turn. Now i have _actually_ planned the rest of this story, who saw that coming?
> 
> Anyways, this turned out to be quite a long one! I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for all the nice comments! They really make my day <3


	9. Chapter 9

It was the last time Yang would wake up in her bed for a long time, she knew it a soon as she opened her eyes.

A knock in her door had woken her up. The sunlight barely made it’s way through the window; it was too early for anyone to be awake.

Yang groaned in her bed. “Yeah?”

The door opened slowly, two cat ears peeking in.

“Good morning. There’s coffee downstairs.” Blake said. “It’s six in the morning.”

“Ugh.” Yang groaned, again. “Why did I said we had to be up this early?”

She heard Blake giggling. “Something about taking advantage of daylight.”

“Yeah.” Yang yawned. “That sounds pretty smart.”

“Come on, pretty smart. Coffee won’t stay hot forever.”

The door closed again, and Yang sighed. She stretched in the bed and enjoyed some last few moments on her bed. When she got up, she stretched the sheets and patted the pillow, making sure the bed was nice and ready for when she came back, because she was going to. 

Yang got dressed quickly with the clothes she had left on top of her chair the night before, next to her already made bag. 

She left her room quietly, knowing her dad was still sleeping, and went down the stairs. Blake had made coffee and toasts, and the sweet smell of melted butter filled the kitchen.

“You made toasts and didn’t burn them?”

Blake rolled her eyes. “I don’t think you should be joking that much. Do you know how to make canned food taste good? Because _I_ do, and I’m pretty sure you will want me to make you tasty meals.”

Yang laughed as she sat next to Blake and hugged her cup with her hands. It was a cold morning, though the rest of the day was probably going to be like the day before.

They were leaving. It was time.

After getting back home yesterday, they had started getting ready. Their things were packed and ready to load in Yang’s bike. There were only a few things left to do, and both made Yang nevous in different ways.

She still hadn’t been able to talk to her dad. Yesterday Blake and her had gone to bed early, before Tai even got home. 

“Why coffee today and no tea?” Yang asked. “Not that I’m complaing, tho.”

“I know you prefer coffee.” Blake answered. “Also, we have a long day ahead and you are driving us.”

“I _could_ teach you to ride Bumbleby.”

Blake’s faunus ears tensed. “No.”

Sadly for her, the idea had already setled in her partner’s mind.

“Yes! I can’t believe it didn’t occurred to me sooner! It’s such a good idea!”

“It’s not! Yang!”

They tried to keep it quiet so Tai wouldn’t wake up, but laughter was loud enough for Zwei, with his eyes barely open, to go down the stairs and seat in the floor next to them.

Yang finished her breakfast fast, and while Blake went up stairs and finished tyding up the room, Yang left the house and walked towards the shed.

The coldness of the morning made goose bumps in her skin as she walked in the wet grass. It had been a long time since she had been in that shed, and probably her father hadn’t entered either, because as soon as she opened the door the scent of stillness was clear.

Her bike was under an old blanket that they didn’t use anymore, but it looked okay. Yang walked around it, cheking if it the travel back to Patch had damaged it in some way.

She cheked the engine and oiled it, tested the brakes and inflated the weels. Yang smiled with pride. That bike had made it back perfectly for another of her adventures.

On her first ride, she had drived herself to the farthest point of the island, and stared at the sea. She could see on the horizon the coast of Vale, and she had dreamt about the day she could finally go the Beacon. That was her big adventure.

Now, however, the trip she had ahead seemed bigger than anything she had ever even thought about before. 

She thought about the night her teachers had visited them a couple of weeks ago. What if they were right? Maybe she was too young, maybe she had a long way ahead before understanding the _real world_ , or whatever her father wanted to call it. 

But she was ready. She had to be. She had been shut in for too long. 

She turned around and began searching in between the different thing in the shed. Even if it had been a while, the last time she remember seeing those somewhere…

Yang’s hand touched the spray paint cans inside a bucket. She took them outside, lying them in the ground and took off her prosthetic. Using her not dominant hand was still hard, even after so many months, but in only a couple of minutes she managed to disarm the arm and painted it black and yellow.

She couldn’t keep thinking about if she was or wasn’t ready— she would never truly be. It was matter of _risking it_ , something she used to do often before. Maybe that was a habit worth returning. She was smarter now, she knew better. 

The metal arm now shone black and yellow, the same tone she had used years before with her bike. That arm would never replace the one she had lost, but that piece of metal was _her_ piece of metal: it was going to shine as she did.

“I don’t think I have ever seen you awake at this time willingly.” A voice said behind her.

Yang smiled nervously and turned to her father. “Not true! I always wake up super early.”

“Not _this_ early.” Tai was smiling too. He was wearing his pijamas, and hugging himself to escape the coldness of the morning. There was a weird look in his eyes, and Yang couldn’t decide if it was tiredness or worry.

“Well, I’m not traveling alone. I need to be responsible, right?”

Tai didn’t answered immediately. He stared at his daughter, the paint in her arm and the motorbike. 

“So you are leaving.” It wasn’t a question. He sighed. “And where are you going?”

“Are you going to try to stop me?”

“No, no.” He laughed. “I’m still a little sore after our last fight. But… I know, dispite how many times I told him not to, that Qrow told you about where Raven’s been at these past years.”

“Yeah, I know.” Yang sat on the ground and stared at the grass. “I already talk to Blake about it. We decided to try and find Raven, so she can take us to Ruby.”

“And if you don’t find her?”

“Blake goes to Mistral.”

“And you?”

“I’ll wait for her, and then we go looking for Ruby and Weiss the harder way.”

None of them said anything for a couple of seconds. Tai was looking somewhere else, lost in his thoughts. When he spoke Yang could barely hear him. “Sounds like a plan.”

“You think?”

“Yes.” He raised his head to look at his daughter. “It sound pretty okay. But Yang… don’t get your hopes up.”

“About what?” 

“Just… don’t get your hopes up.”

Yang took a deep breath and nodded. She had a lot of things she was hoping about. 

“And about Blake.” Tai said, this time louder.

“What about her?”

“Same question here: what about her?”

“Dad, you are not taking a lot of sense in this conversation.”

He laughed. Behind him, the sun was getting higher. Soon it would be time for the two girls to leave, and before that, Yang wanted to go somewhere.

“Let me refrase then.” Said Tai, cheeking behind him to see if anyone —if Blake was near. “Two months ago you were heartbroken because she had left you, now you are leaving together on a dangerous trip to find your mother. I trust you, you know that, but are you sure about what you are doing?”

“Damn, dad, do you have something against Blake?” Yang tried to joke, not wanting to appear nervous.

But he didn’t answered. Tai raised an eyerbrow and waited in silence until Yang had no other choice but to speak.

“She came back, and I want her back. It’s as simple as that.” She said. “She is trying, and so am I. And things are getting better.”

Suddenly, from inside the house, Zwei began barking. Yang didn’t have to think twice to know he was probably trying to play with Blake, and her partner was surely not enjoying it. 

Apparently she had began smiling, because Tai reaised his eyebrows and smirked.

“I can see that.” He said. “Come on, I’ll help you two load the bike.”

He took the bike to the front of the house while Yang went up stairs to get her bag. 

Zwei wasn’t barking anymore, and instead Yang found Blake hunched over, with one hand on Zwei’s head.

“Holy shit.” Said Yang, and immediately Blake straightned. “Oh Gods.”

“What?”

“You were petting him!”

Blake was blushed. “I was not! I just touch his forehead.”

“Yeah, with love!” 

“Oh, shut up.”

And Yang did shut up, but her smile didn’t fade away. She suddenly felt she could cry, and she wasn’t sure why. She went to her room and took her bag. Zwei followed her wailing his tail, as if he also couldn’t believe Blake had pet him.

“Lucky guy you are.” Yang whipered to him without thinking. Zwei barked.

She was going to miss that dog. Yang kneeled in the floor and allowed Zwei to lick her face. He had been a down when Ruby had left, and she hoped this time he and Tai would be okay.

Yang closed the door of her room at the same time Blake left hers with her bag hanging from her shoulder. She had put on her long white jacket, and her weapon was thigtly tied around her back. 

They didn’t said anything. Side by side, with Zwei following them behind, they went down the stairs for the last time.

Tai was waiting next to the bike, and helped them load the bags at the side of it. The goodbye was almost awkard. Yang could see Blake didn’t quite knew what to do.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay this past month.” She was saying to Tai. “And for teaching me—well, Yang… I just really learned from hearing a huntsman teaching—”

Tai just hugged her the same way he hugged his daughters. “Take care of Yang, oky?”

“I… I’ll try.”

That made Tai laughed. He turned to his daughter.

“And you keep your partner safe too.” He hugged her, and Yang hugged him back. “Both of you be safe, and write to me if you can.”

“Will do, dad.”

They got on the bike, Yang on the front and Blake behind, awkwardly grabbing her waist.

After their helmets were on, Yang turned on the engine and it began to rumble, making her feel _that_ adrenaline again. She had missed it.

“You better hold on thighter.” Yang said to her partner with a smirk.

She started the bike, as Tai waved goodbye and Zwei barked, and quickly, they accelerated towards the forest.

Yang had told Blake she wanted to go somewhere before leaving Patch. But now that they were there, she was almost regretting it.

“This place is beautiful.” Blake said as they neared the end of the cliff, the morning air still present as the sun raised from the distance, painting the pale clouds with golden light.

The bike slowed down until it was feets away from the cliff, and they got off. Blake may have been too cautivated with the sunrise, because she only saw the grave when they had it in front of them.

A breathed scaped her lips.

“I just thought that if you were to maybe meet Raven,” Yang said, “you might as well meet my mom.”

Blake didn’t said anything. She stared at Yang with an expressing that the blonde girl couldn’t quite get, and then turned to see the grave.

Yang began playing with the ends of her hair nervously. “Okay, I see this is kinda depressing, I’m—”

“No, Yang, it’s not, I’m…” Blake took a deep breath. “I’m really honored you brought me here.”

“It’s just an engraved stone.” Yang said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “She wasn’t found. This is just… symbolic for us. It was her favorite place.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I was really young, but I remember dad would always get nervous when she brought me and Ruby here, because the forest is full of grimm, but I still remember feeling safe with her.”

Blake was smiling fondly, and the sun was hitting on her face enough for Yang to feel herself blushing.

She looked at the grave again. “When we find Ruby and Weiss, I’m going to bring us here, and we are going to have a picnic.”

Blake giggled. “I’m sure Weiss would love to sit in the grass.”

“She’ll have to deal with it.”

For a few moments they said nothing. The clouds kept chaging colors above them as the sun rised, and said goodbye to the island in silence. They got back on Bumblebee without speaking, and again Blake hesitated before grabbing onto Yang’s waist.

It was still early, and there was barely anyone in Patch. The buisnesses were just opening their blinds, and the people sat next to their windows. The only ones riding in the streets were Yang and Blake.

In the port the few boats were discharching commodities, but at the end of the dock, a large and imposing ship was waiting for it to be seven in the morning. A man who looked like the captain was welcoming the few passengers who were getting in.

“Wait,” said Blake, “this is our ride?”

“Yeah, why?” Yang asked, and pointed at the name of the ship. “You got a ‘pride’ problem?”

Blake glared at her, even when there was a small smile forming on her lips. “This is the ship that took me to Menagerie.”

“Really? Wow, what a coincidence.”

They got off the bike when the got to the ship, and immediately the captain, a man with white hair and beard immediately came to greet them.

“Good morning, welcome to— oh, miss Belladonna! Is a pleasure to meet you again!”

“You too, captain.” 

Yang smiled. “Hello, I’m Yang Xiao Long. I can board with my bike, right?”

“Yes, of course.” He looked at them both from head to toes, and then turned to Blake. “We’ll sail in ten minutes. You and your new blonde partner may take compartment 7, as a thank you for your last time on this boat.”

They thanked him and boarded the ship, pulling Bumblebee with them. 

“I have like, so many questions.” Yang started. “I’m not your first blonde partner?”

Blake rolled her eyes. “He meant Sun. He followed me home.”

“Oh, right, you told me that. He seems like he highlights his hair tho, not a natural blond.”

That made Blake laugh, and Yang felt proud. She needed to tone herself down.

“I’ll tell him you said that.”

“And what did you do when you were last in this boat?”

Blake sighed. “There was a grimm attack, a sea feilong. Sun and I helped kill it.”

This time Yang stopped dead in her tracks. 

“You what?” She asked in desbeliefe.

“What?” 

“A freaking sea feilong? Damn, Blake, those are seriously big things!”

Blake smirked and turned to continue walking. “So?”

Well. Okay then. Yang tried to no blush so much, and repeated to herself that she needed to put her feeling on check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear im not giving up on this fic, i just can't seem to write faster
> 
> thank you so much for the nice comments!! they really make my days <3

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really gonna try to finish this one! Don't pay too much attention to time, let's imagine that Blake's trip to Menagerie took less, so her entire arc happened earlier, and they are like a month or something ahead the attack to heaven academy. Let's leave it at that lol.  
> I hope you enjoyed, tell me what you think! Thank you for reading <3


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